Coffee Flavoured Kisses
by Milly Molly Mandy
Summary: SamDaniel of course. A night offworld that no one can remember changes the relationship between Sam and Daniel. FINISHED.
1. 1

**A/N Not to jump on a bandwagon or anything, but I do love marriage fics, so here's my own take on that idea.**

**The title is from the lyrics of 'Last train to Clarksville' by The Monkees.**

* * *

Jack groaned and blearily opened one eye, his head pounding so hard he thought it was going to explode. As sunlight scorched his eye and his surroundings swam into view, his heart rate went up a few notches till he thought that too would explode. Where the hell was he? What had he done?

Carefully moving himself into an upright position he opened the other eye and looked around his environment. The rich textures of a 60's style boudoir made his vision crazy and he moved his eyes over to a calmer patch of interior decoration.

_Hmm, a bed. No wait. A bed with people in it. Ahh good. The rest of SG1 are still alive._

He could just about make out two mops of hair under the covers and jealously thought _'that's typical. I get a killer hangover and I don't even wake up with Carter beside me.'_ Where's Teal'c? He scanned the room for any more signs of life and his gaze fell on a bright red door to his left. It looked vaguely familiar. Staggering out of the bed he found himself in, he stumbled up to the door and pulled on the handle. It was locked.

His head fought against the tide of alcohol and tried to tell him something. _Red door. Teal'c. Argument._

"Oh God, this is not good. Not good at all. General Hammond is going to kill us. Me. Definitely me. T, can you hear me?" He would've shouted but he didn't think he could take it so he settled for a harsh whisper against the keyhole instead.

"Indeed I can O'Neill."

"I am soooo sorry for whatever I did last night." He looked around for a key and found it on the floor a couple of metres away from the door, buried in a big furry rug.

Fumbling with the lock, he pulled the door open and looked in. Teal'c sat quietly in his Kel'no'reem position, with both eyes looking reproachfully up at Jack.

"Buddy!"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow and stood up. "If you were not my most trusted friend O'Neill, I would cause you great pain for your behaviour last night."

Jack studied the jaffa's large body and silently thanked the Gods that had made them friends. Well that would be Apophis actually, he thought with a smirk.  
"Hey, how did I get you in there? I mean, you're a big bloke, and I must have been pretty wasted judging from my head."

"You and your 'friends' were most insistent that I enter the cupboard."

"Why?" Alarms bells started ringing in Jack's befuddled brain as he asked the question, and as an image from the night before filled his head, he felt a wave of nausea wash over him.

It was, he realised 10 minutes later, a blessing that his head wasn't addled enough to forget the location of a toilet.

"O'Neill, I have taken the liberty of obtaining some aspirin from your pack."

"Thanks T." Jack swallowed the tablets and stuck his head under the tap in the bathroom. Feeling a bit better, he rubbed his face harshly on a towel and turned to face Teal'c.

"So, how much trouble am I going to be in with the General? 'Deliberately offended a race I didn't like' type trouble, or 'accidentally showed every goa'uld mothership an easy way to defeat Earth' type trouble?"

"I fear it will be the latter."

"We'd best wake them and get out of here."

"I did attempt to intervene O'Neill."

Jack looked up at Teal'c as he headed for the bathroom door. "I know you did. Never let me touch a drink ever again."  
"You have said this many times before, but I feel this time you have learnt your lesson."

"Yeah, this time I mean it." Jack replied, shaking his head and entering the large bedroom.

Over in the bed he had noticed earlier he could see the sleeping forms of his 2IC and his team archaeologist. Marvelling at the fact he had woken up fully clothed, he daren't go any closer in case he found out that was not the case with his team members.

"Umm… Carter? Daniel? Time to wake up."

There was a groan from the bed and Teal'c appeared at his side, glasses of water and aspirins in hand.

"Am I dead?" Came Daniel's groggy voice.

"You should know Danny boy." Said Jack in a falsely cheerful voice. "No, I'm afraid not." He added flatly. "T's got some water and aspirin."

There was a deep sigh from the other lump in the bed and Daniel's body froze.  
"Why am I in a bed with Sam?"

The Sam type lump now seemed fully awake as well.  
"What? Why am I in a bed with Daniel? Where am I?"

Jack and Teal'c looked at each other.

"I don't want either of you to panic, but I think we may have had too much to drink last night."

"Ya think?"

Jack briefly smiled at his 2IC's comment before continuing.

"We may have held an impromptu marriage ceremony as well."

"WHAT!"  
The cries of shock went up from both sides of the bed at the same time and there was confusion as Sam and Daniel both struggled to get as far away from each other as possible.  
"Whoa! Whoa! DANIEL!" Daniel stopped trying to get out of bed and looked up at Jack. "You're…. um…. Maybe that's not such a great idea."

Daniel looked down at his body and, noticing its nakedness, blushed a bright shade of crimson.

"T and I are going to go and speak to the local people. I suggest you two get dressed. Oh, and I would strongly recommend the aspirin." Jack walked around the bed to the second door and opened it, to be greeted with strong, hot sunlight.  
"T, come on."

Teal'c smiled down at Daniel, who looked mortified, and handed him the glasses of water and aspirin. "I shall leave these with you Daniel Jackson."

He turned and left the two of them, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Daniel looked down at the glasses in his hand and put one down on the bedside table, emptying the other one in a couple of gulps and following it with some tablets.

"Daniel?" Sam's voice crept out quietly from where she was hiding under the covers. He looked at the lump where she was curled up.

"Hmmm?"

"You, umm, don't think its true do you?"

A wave of guilt washed over Daniel as he heard the apprehension in her voice. He was absolutely ashamed of himself for getting into such a state the night before. Well he couldn't remember doing it, but that was enough to prove he drank too much. He would have to do everything he could to soften the blow to Sam. He'd have to start with the truth though.

"Sam honey, I think it is true. I mean, I don't remember, but I am naked in a bed with you."

Ok, that wasn't really softening the blow. The form next to him didn't think so either. "I didn't need to know that Daniel. Oh God. This is the end of my career. And all respect. Everyone will look at me and go 'there's the Major that got drunk on P3- whatever and married her best friend'."

"Sam, I'm sure it won't be that bad. General Hammond wouldn't remove you from SG1 just because of this. And there will be new rumours, there always is."

The covers shifted into a tighter ball and Sam replied irritably, "You don't get it Daniel. You're a man; they will all offer you congratulations. I will get whispered about and any time I do anything someone will start a new piece of gossip."

"Sam, come out from under the covers. Please?" He wheedled. There was no movement. "I have aspirin and water."

A hand appeared and lowered the covers slightly so that a head was poking out.

"Good morning." He handed her the glass and the tablets and she took both, shifting into an upright position, tightly holding the covers round her with one hand.

"Thanks." She emptied the glass and placed it on the table next to her. "Argh, this is such a mess." She brought her knees up to her chin and hugged them tightly, briefly forgetting that she was naked, and allowing the covers to slip a little.

Daniel watched her - her misery only encouraging his own guilt. He really would do everything in his power to make it up to her. As the covers on her slipped a little, he found his eyes drifting, wondering what her body was like under the sheets she was hiding in. _Daniel._ He reprimanded himself harshly. _Haven't you done enough damage?_

"I really don't remember last night. Do you?" Sam asked, interrupting his mental cold shower.

Daniel looked down at his hands, carefully folded on the covers of the bed. He couldn't even remember what planet he was on, but he didn't quite feel the need to admit that just yet. "No. First thing I remember is Jack waking us up."

Sam groaned again at the reminder and hid her face in her arms. "How will I ever look at him again. And Teal'c. Holy Hannah, Teal'c! We –"

Daniel gasped as he too remembered.

"Wow" was all he could reply.

"General Hammond is going to have us doing admin for a year."

"Maybe we could twist the truth on the report a little?" Daniel suggested hopefully. "I mean, we must have been really out of it to get Teal'c locked up in a cupboard - like much more than we would have been with Earth drink. It must've been much stronger than we're used to."

"Yeah. Janet could back us up with medical data."

Both sat wistfully planning their versions of the report for a few minutes, before the reality of the situation crept up on them again.

"We, umm, ought to get dressed." Daniel casually mentioned, like it was a normal thing to wake up naked next to Sam in the morning. _I wish it was. Hey, where did that thought come from?_

"Yeah. Shall I use the bathroom first, or do you want to?" _It's quite nice sitting in bed with Daniel actually. He is so much more calming than Jack would be in this situation._

"No, I'm ok, you go first."

"Ok." Sam shifted in the bed and then looked at him. "You won't look will you?"

He laughed and made proper eye contact with her for the first time that morning. "No Sam, I won't look."

She nodded and he turned away as she climbed out of bed and snuck into the bathroom, scooping her clothes of the floor as she did so.

Daniel quickly scrabbled into his own BDUs, chagrining himself for his behaviour as he did so. _I can't believe I just had a sneaky look at Sam as she left the room. And why don't I feel more upset about the situation?_ He pulled his trousers on as he thought about this. _The only thing I feel is guilt for the effect it will have on Sam. Where is my own misery?_ He pulled on his socks and started lacing up his boots. _Is this really real? Did I dream it all?_

His question was answered as Sam came out the bathroom, looking fairly scruffy in her combats. Looking in her eyes, you could tell she'd had a very, very late night. She stopped as she realised Daniel was only half dressed.

"Sorry, I'll-"

"Doesn't matter. It's not anything you haven't seen before anyway." He waved her apology away and started to pull a t-shirt over his head.

Sam watched, observing how tight his chest was and the way it rippled as he worked the t-shirt over his arms. Then she realised what she was doing and stopped abruptly.

"I really want to go home." She said lamely. Daniel had always been the one in the team that she could be honest with – revealing things that she had to hide behind military bravado for the others.

Daniel's head popped through his t-shirt and he nodded.

"I know Sammy. I'm sure Jack won't want to stay here very long. Unless he is planning to hide out here from General Hammond."

Sam smiled at Daniel's use of her nickname, and was reminded of her dad. Another wave of guilt washed over her.

"My Dad is going be… actually, I don't know what he'll say."

Daniel looked even guiltier, if that was at all possible.  
"He'll kill me!"

"No he won't. Daniel, I really hope you aren't going to blame yourself about this. I think it's safe to say we all had some part in this. Except Teal'c, who can live with his conscience clear." She watched him fidget under her gaze, walked up to him and squeezed his arm reassuringly.  
"Really. I don't blame you Daniel. And I'd rather be married to you than Jack. Or Teal'c. My dad would definitely kill them!"  
Daniel smiled.

"Come on, let's go find the Colonel. We need a game plan before we return to base."

Daniel felt a slight unhappy as she let go of his arm, and followed her out of the brightly coloured room, taking a sweep looking round it as he shut the door.


	2. 2

A/N I should probably point out that this is no later than season 5, because I like to pretend anything after that didn't really happen. While I'm at it, that's pretty much true for all my fics.

* * *

Jack and Teal'c weren't that hard to find. They just followed the sound of a heated discussion, and walking between two buildings they found Jack arguing with one of the local people.  
Jack turned as Sam and Daniel stood next to Teal'c, who stood a little way off observing the conversation with distaste.

"O'Neill's diplomacy gets progressively worse each mission." He remarked.

Jack walked up to them, muttering something unsavoury under his breath.

"John bloody Lennon over there," He gestured behind him. "Says he did not marry you."  
Sam and Daniel looked at each other.

"But that's good, surely?" Sam said slowly.

Jack rolled his eyes at her. "No. He says the flowers, the animals, the Sun, the Moons and probably every other planet in the godforsaken sky married you, and therefore, he does not have the power to divorce you. And even if he did, he wouldn't anyway, because he says love is for life."

"Oh."

"Sorry Carter." He said with genuine sympathy. "Looks like you'll have to go through the gate as Mrs Jackson."

Sam looked at him. "That's not funny, sir. And I think you'll find Carter-Jackson works fine." She smiled at Daniel, and it didn't go unmissed by Jack.

"Hey, we're gonna need a game plan you know. The marriage is valid on Earth." He really hoped that smile didn't mean what he thought it meant.

"I know sir. We'll have to hope the alcohol is still in our systems and Janet can confirm that we were too inebriated to make any responsible decisions." Sam stated it matter-of-factly, and Daniel wished _he_ could hide behind a military mask.

"That should be good grounds for an annulment, surely." He offered.

Reassured that the smile didn't mean what he thought it meant, Jack nodded. "I think it's safe to say the alcohol will still be in our blood."

"Shall we head for the gate?" Enquired Teal'c, followed by a groan from Jack. They looked at him and he sighed.  
"I just remembered how far away the gate is."

"Shall I presume we will not be doing the trek in 2 hours 10 minutes? You were quite eager to beat your time record when you arrived O'Neill."

"I think I shall save that for another day, T. I'm not really in the mood today."

"Indeed." Teal'c led the way out of the village and the others followed meekly behind.

Daniel finally remembered the long walk from the day before and suddenly remembered what planet they were on.

"Hmmm."

Sam, walking behind him, looked up at him. "What did you say Daniel?"

"Oh nothing. I've just remembered where we are."

Jack snorted. "Wow, you really did drink a lot last night Daniel."

Daniel blushed and Sam smiled secretly to herself.

"Actually, if I remember correctly, it was _you_ who insisted we drink something in the first place. _You_ didn't want to offend local customs."  
Daniel blushed again at Jack's comment and Sam felt an urge to say something and spare Daniel further embarrassment.

"Well, sir, it's not like they looked likely to hurt us. We didn't come to any harm."

"Apart from the new relationship status you two have developed."

"It could have been worse." Daniel said, thinking back to past missions when someone had offended the local culture.

"True. The real danger will be when we get through the gate." The three of them fell silent again and Teal'c paused where he was walking and let them catch him up.

"I shall maintain that it was not through your own actions that you ended up so intoxicated?"

The three looked up at him and smiled, but Daniel felt bad. "Teal'c, its kind and all but you don't have to lie for us. We were really rotten to you last night."

"I am not lying Daniel Jackson. You were not yourselves after that first drink, and you should not be held responsible for your actions. I forgive all three of you." Teal'c announced solemnly.

"T, you really are a great friend!" Jack said cheerfully, and started walking again.

"It is true I am much more valuable than you will ever appreciate." Teal'c said, falling into step beside him.  
"We appreciate you quite a lot though Teal'c." Daniel said, and he and Sam fell into step beside them once more.

As the gate came into view in the distance Daniel noticed Sam steadily decreasing her pace until he was pretty sure they would soon stop if he didn't say something.

"Sam, I promise you it will be ok."

She gave him a withering glare but he refused to be put off.

"Honestly. We'll sort this out together." He reached out for her hand, and squeezed it, as she had done earlier. "Come on."

Jack paused when he realised the other two weren't behind him and looked back. Daniel seemed to be saying something earnestly to Sam and took her hand. Jack turned back round and continued walking, looking at Teal'c as he did so.

"Why did you try and stop the marriage last night?" He asked Teal'c curiously.

Teal'c looked at him, a small smile playing on his lips. "Why do you think I tried?"

"Well at first I thought you were just being a good friend. But now I think it's something else. You _want_ them to get married."

Teal'c remained silent, so Jack pushed on. "You could have tried a lot harder to resist us when we put you in the cupboard. I mean, you're Teal'c! You wanted this marriage to go ahead."

"Perhaps."

Jack gazed at the jaffa with new found awe. "You sly old dog! Well that will complicate matters with the General."

Teal'c looked at Jack. "It will not, O'Neill. You must not tell him this. Major Carter and Daniel Jackson must work this relationship out for themselves."

"If you're sure of this Teal'c. I mean, they might split the team up."

"They will not. And I am sure."

"Ok then."

They stopped next to the DHD and waited for Sam and Daniel to catch up. They were still holding hands and Sam seemed to be following somewhat reluctantly.

"Cheer up Major; you could be married to me!"

The comment struck a little too close to home and Sam replied testily "Shut up, sir." He shrugged at Daniel who glared back, and Jack made a mental note never to follow through on a dinner invite at the _Carter-_Jackson household.

Teal'c dialled up the stargate and they watched as the event horizon formed.

"Ok Campers. Remember. Big smile. Even when the Doc starts taking our blood."

In a gesture of a united front, all four stepped through the stargate together.


	3. Debriefing

A/N Same message as in other fic - I'm moving to uni land this week so updates may be a bit sporadic. I haven't forgotten about it though so bear with me!

* * *

General Hammond watched as an event horizon formed and the iris opened with SG1's IDC code. He didn't know how they managed it, but they were back right on schedule, for once. He must remember to congratulate Colonel O'Neill; perhaps it would become a habit.

As the four of them stepped onto the ramp though, all such thoughts went out of his mind. They looked - well, they looked drunk or drugged, but the General really hoped that wasn't the case. They seemed quite chirpy though, and Colonel O'Neill had a great big grin plastered on his face. He leant forward to the microphone.  
"SG1; debriefing, upstairs, now."

He watched as Sam and Daniel swapped looks. Was that fear on Major Carter's face? Ok, something was definitely up. He sighed as thoughts of a peaceful afternoon were rapidly swept away, and headed to the briefing room.

"They did what? You did what?" The General couldn't believe his ears. He stopped Jack's explanation and turned to each of the other three in turn. "Did it not occur to you after the first drink that perhaps it wasn't a good idea to have any more?"

Sam and Daniel carefully avoided the General's eyes and Teal'c interrupted.  
"After the first drink they were not themselves General Hammond, otherwise I'm sure they would have stopped."

Hammond took a deep breath and sighed.

"Ok, so my worst fears are realised and you are in fact drunk. I suppose we shall consider it an occupational hazard, and discuss it again when you're all sober. I'll need blood works from all of you, of course. So. You spent the evening drinking. What else? Dr Jackson?"

Daniel briefly raised his eyes from the table in front of him and looked at General Hammond. "Actually General, I have no memory of the entire mission." He said in a small voice.

The General sighed. "Major?"

"Me neither sir." Sam replied, wishing the ground would just open and swallow her up. She knew in a minute Jack would have to say all he knew, and then Teal'c, and she wanted to die of shame. She wasn't even aware that under the table Daniel was subtly trying to reach her hand.

"Colonel?"

Jack glanced at Sam and Daniel before replying. "Well sir, I remember a couple of things." He wondered what to say first, but the General beat him to it.

"Perhaps you can give them to me in chronological order." He said, feeling like he was talking to one of his grandchildren. No, they wouldn't be this irritating. And there is no way they would ever come home in such a state.

"Ok, sir." Jack shifted uncomfortably in his seat, wishing he could be anywhere else in the world, or even offworld, right now. "You have to remember sir, that I just remembered these two details this morning, so even they are a bit shaky."

The General nodded impatiently. "Would someone like to tell me what's going on, sometime today?"

"Well I woke up this morning in some crazy rainbow coloured room. Did I mention that the people on this planet are like 60s throwbacks? Good. I had a killer headache, but got up and looked round the room. Major Carter and Daniel Jackson were-"

'_Please don't say in bed together, Jack'_ Sam and Daniel both prayed silently.

"-in the room, but I could find no sign of Teal'c. As I did another sweep of the room I found Teal'c where-we-put-him-in-a-cupboard-the-night-before." Jack finished hurriedly, taking great care to mumble the words.

Hammond raised his eyebrows. "What was that Colonel? Slower and clearer if you don't mind."

Jack sighed a long drawn out sigh. "I found him in a cupboard where we had locked him during the night."

Hammond looked slowly round the table. "He's not lying, is he." He said finally. He noted that they did have the grace to look embarrassed and stare at the table.

"I'm very sorry for their behaviour Teal'c."

"That is quite alright General Hammond. I have in fact already forgiven them."

"Colonel, I can assure you you and your team have a lot of paperwork to do. Why did you lock Teal'c in a cupboard?"

Jack looked at Sam and Daniel, who both avoided his eyes, and went in for the kill. "Teal'c tried to stop Major Carter and Dr Jackson from getting married."  
Daniel swore he could hear the drip of the Coffee machine. In the Mess. Four floors up.

The General looked slowly round the table again, but no one met his gaze except Teal'c, who nodded his head in agreement of Jack.

"They got married?" He enquired calmly.

Sam looked up from under her eyelashes and could see the General was trying very hard to restrain his anger.

"Apparently, sir. None of us have any memory of it though."

"Well that's great. First you're drunk; then you go and GET MARRIED!" The General lost control of his anger and shouted the last couple of words, before getting up and going to stand by the window, looking down on the stargate where it sat, inactive.

Sergeant Harriman, approaching the debriefing room with a phone message for General Hammond, paused as he heard his CO's angry voice. He jumped slightly as the General shouted the remainder of his sentence and hurried away from the room, lest he attract some of the General's bad mood. The phone message could wait – he had a pool to collect on. Rushing down the stairs back to the safety of his control room, Harriman bumped into Siler coming up the other way.

"I wouldn't go up there; the General's blowing his top." He said conspiringly.

"You'll never guess what SG1 have gone and done."


	4. 4

**A/N** Well I am at uni and it's amazing! And I figured out how to make my internet work so here I am, updating for your reading pleasure!

* * *

General Hammond turned away from the Stargate and looked back at the table. Jack was playing with his fingers, Teal'c was watching him politely, and Sam and Daniel were staring resolutely at the table. He sighed again.

"Get yourselves down to the infirmary and checked out. Tell Dr Frasier I want blood works from all of you - you as well Teal'c, and I want you all on base tonight. We'll have a proper debriefing tomorrow, when you've all had some rest. Dismissed."

He watched them walk sheepishly out of the briefing room and returned to his chair, wondering at the turn of events. It would be a lot of paperwork, but he was damned if he was doing any of it. It would be a good punishment for Colonel O'Neill.

Janet sat impatiently in the infirmary, awaiting the arrival of SG1. The rumours had already reached Level 21 regarding the nature of their return, and Janet wanted the facts confirming by Sam. She leapt up as she heard footsteps approaching down the corridor and made herself busy.

Casually looking up as they entered the room, Janet was surprised to see them looking very worse for wear. Clearly General Hammond had not been kind on them.

"General Hammond has requested that you do a full blood work on all of us." Teal'c informed her.

"Teal'c!" Cried Jack, knocking his friend on the arm.

"Thank you Teal'c. If you'd all sit on the beds, the nurses will come and see you in a minute. Sam, if I could just see you in my office for a minute."

Daniel looked up at Sam, who shrugged and followed the petite brunette into her office.

"So." Janet shut the door and turned eagerly to Sam. "Is it true? Sam honey, you're looking a bit rough, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Janet. Is what true?" Sam asked wearily, not at all surprised that rumours had already started. In fact she was sure one or two people had looked at them strangely as they had trooped up to the Infirmary.

"Well, I heard that you all got drugged and Teal'c tried to stop you and Daniel tried to kill him. And you and Jack got married."

Sam smiled. "Well. The basic idea is there."

Janet gasped. "Daniel tried to kill Teal'c?"

Sam chortled. "No. Not that bit. We got drunk and Daniel and I got married, and Jack locked Teal'c in a cupboard to stop him from ruining the wedding."

"You and Daniel!" Janet was so surprised she didn't even bother to lower her voice, and out in the infirmary Jack turned to Daniel.

"Guess the rumours beat us here."

Daniel nodded miserably.

"Of course, neither Daniel or I have any memory of any of this, Jack can only remember those two details, and we all woke up with killer headaches. Not to mention we had to walk what turned into a 4 hour trek back to the gate to get home." Sam sat down wearily on Janet's desk, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep and forget all about the mission.

Janet looked at her friend sympathetically, and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, I'll be really quick, then you can go and sleep. We can discuss it all tomorrow over coffee."

"Great. I look forward to it." Sam said sarcastically. Janet opened her office door and led Sam out into the infirmary. The men looked up from where they were sitting on the infirmary beds.

"All caught up on the gossip Doc?" Jack asked cheekily.

"I'd be careful Colonel. The General has asked for full blood works and it doesn't really matter what size needle I use."

Jack informed Janet of everything he had already told General Hammond as the nurses ran through their post mission checks and took blood samples.

"And you two have had no flash backs?" She said turning to Sam and Daniel.

"Only of what we did to Teal'c." Daniel remarked.

"Wow. Must have been powerful stuff. Wish I had a sample of it."

Jack shook his head. "No way. No way are we going back to that planet. I might end up marrying T! No offence T." He added.

Janet smiled as Teal'c replied. "There is none taken, O'Neill."

"Ok. You're all free to go. I'm sure I don't have to say to you all that you're banned from driving tonight as your reactions definitely indicate that you're still under the influence."

"Doesn't matter, Doc." Jack said as he stood up. "The General's banned us from leaving the base anyway. Pending court martials or whatever he deems a suitable punishment."

Janet smiled and shook her head. "I'm sure he won't court martial you Colonel. Go and get some sleep, all of you. And Sam, pop in here tomorrow when you're free."

She watched the four of them leave her infirmary, and went back to her office. Well, that was a turn of events. Sam and Daniel. Who'd of thought it? There was something different about the balance in the group as well. Her musings on what it was were interrupted when Siler knocked on her door, wielding a bleeding arm.  
"Ahh, I wondered whether I would be seeing you in here today, Sergeant."

Freshly showered, fed and watered, Sam climbed wearily into the cot in her private quarters switching off the light as she did so. The clock next to her glowed 16:01 but hey, she must have been up at least half the night. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone to bed this early. One advantage of working underground was the proper darkness that it produced when you switched off all the lights. Her mind attempted to process the day but she pushed it to the back of her mind and rolled over, determined to sleep. One thought came to her as she drifted off; last night she had slept next to Daniel.

A couple of doors down, in his private quarters, Daniel was also climbing into bed after showering and eating. He did take the time to process the day's events though, and strained his head to remember any details from the mission. Getting an annulment was going to be a right pain, he thought to himself. Suddenly a thought struck him. It was his fault the marriage was legal in the first place – his own married to Sha're had ensured that offworld marriages were lawful. He didn't see why they couldn't just pretend it had never happened. It wasn't like there was any paperwork or anything. And no one had any memories to prove it happened. _I might point this out in the briefing tomorrow._


	5. 5

**A/N **My muse seems to have wandered off and my writing seems to have got really difficult.

Erm... that's all I wanted to say really. Chapter 5:

* * *

Waking up slowly, Sam let her mind process everything from the two days while she was in the comfy plane between sleep and reality. She had to admit, as both Jack and she had already mentioned; she was glad it was Daniel she was married to. She had no doubt that he would do everything he could to make the marriage as easy as possible before it was annulled. It was strange, but in the darkness of her quarters, it didn't seem such a bad thing to be married to Daniel. '_I mean, there could be lots of benefits'_ she justified to herself. '_We enjoy each others company for one. We get on well. And I wouldn't mind waking up to that body every morning'._ She smiled to herself and stretched. '_Well I definitely don't have a killer headache today'._ She looked over at the clock next to her. 09:12. Wow. That was a lot of hours sleep. She leaned over and switched on the light, wincing as the brightness filled the room. Ugh - Perhaps still slightly hung-over. Standing up confirmed her suspicions as she felt bile rise in her throat.

Arriving in the Base Mess half an hour later, Sam fought the urge to retch as the smell of breakfast reached her nostrils. What she needed was coffee. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, jumping as someone placed a hand on her arm.

"Daniel! You scared me!"  
He smiled and held out a cup of coffee.

"Need this?"

She accepted it gratefully and sat down at the nearest table. He followed and sat down opposite her, holding his own coffee between his hands.

"The Colonel surfaced yet?" She asked between large gulps.

"Nope. Listen, Sam."  
Sam looked up at him and he smiled. "The rumours are already making the rounds, I'm afraid. The thing is, they seem to think that, umm, you and Jack are married."

Sam looked at Daniel as he gazed at her intently, obviously trying to gauge her reaction. "I know. Janet told me yesterday. I mean what I said you know; I'd rather be married to you than Jack. And who else would give me coffee first thing in the morning!"

Daniel smiled and finished his own cup.

"The General's scheduled the debriefing for 2 o'clock."

"1400hrs." Sam said absent-mindedly, watching the coffee in her cup.

"Yeah. Got any plans before then?"

Sam pulled a face. "Well Janet wants to see me, so I suppose I'll do that. What do you think the General will say to us?"

Daniel frowned as he thought about it. "I don't know. He seemed like he was trying quite hard not to be angry yesterday."

"Yeah. Jack will bear the brunt of the reprimand anyway; he was the commanding officer on the mission."

"Seems a bit harsh. It's hardly his fault. We were the ones that went and got married."

Sam looked up from her cup and glanced around the Mess. It was quite empty, but the technicians on the next table looked at them as they overheard the last part of the conversation. Sam glared at them until they looked away.

"Do you really not remember anything from that night?" Sam asked, watching him. He didn't falter under her gaze.

"No. Wish I did though. Why? Do you?"

"No I don't. I was just wondering. You seem to be taking it awfully calmly."

"So do you." Daniel countered.

"Ok, so we're both incredibly balanced people who treat a casual marriage between friends - which they have no memory of, as the norm."

Daniel nodded slowly.

"I'm going to see Janet." Sam stood up and picked up Daniel's cup and her own, placing them on a tray on her way out.

Daniel sat and watched Sam leave the Mess, wondering what was going on in her mind. Did she really think he wouldn't tell her if he remembered anything? Aware that he was being watched, he turned to look at the two technicians at the next table, who felt it was safe to watch now Major Carter had left the room.

"Oh, grow up."

He stood up and left, heading for his lab.

Sam walked down the corridor to the infirmary, having to glare at three people who practically stared at her as she passed.

"Jan, you here?" She called as she entered the infirmary. A solitary nurse was tidying a bed and looked up at her, bitterness in her eyes. Ignoring her, Sam walked up to Janet's office, where Janet sat, looking through some paperwork. She entered and shut the door behind her, causing Janet to look up from her reading.

"Sam! You look much better today."

"Thanks. What's her problem?" She asked, nodding to behind her to the nurse in the infirmary.

"Oh, she's just jealous that you got Daniel before she did, just ignore her."

"Hmmm."

Janet watched her friend closely waiting for her to say something. When she didn't, Janet felt a prompt was necessary.

"Do you want to go to the Mess for coffee?"

Sam shook her head. "No thanks, just came from there. Also everyone keeps watching me."

"No they don't! Well, they probably do, but they'll be bored in a week, just you wait."

"A week is ages away though."

"Cheer up Sam! You're the envy of all women on the base, having snapped up Daniel."

Sam glared at her. "I'm glad everyone thinks this is some kind of joke. The Colonel said basically the same thing. It's not funny. And _he_ doesn't even seem bothered."

Janet smiled to herself, having finally got a proper response out of Sam. "_He_ being?"

Sam scowled at her. "Daniel, as you well know. He doesn't seem at all fussed about this."

Janet thought for a couple of seconds about what to say. "Well, Sam, honey. You don't seem that fussed either." She held up her hand to stop Sam interrupting, "I mean; you seem very bothered about his response to the marriage, but your own response is a bit harder to determine. Maybe he is the same. What do you honestly feel about the marriage? About being married to Daniel? Do you like him that way? Perhaps love him?"

Sam sat in silence in front of her, and she knew she had struck a nerve.

"So you have at least thought about?"

There was more silence, before Sam finally replied. "I have thought about it. And the answer's no... I think."

"You think."

"I don't know! I mean, it's Daniel." Sam leant forward with her head resting on her arms as they folded on the table. "God it's all so difficult. I wish I could remember the night. Know how serious we were when we said our vows. I don't even know if we said vows! I mean, they were a right hippy planet. Maybe we just shared a joint!"

Janet smiled. "Would knowing how it all came about change how you feel now?"

"Yes! How I feel now is confused! And embarrassed. Do you have any idea how hard that debriefing with General Hammond was yesterday? 'Well actually Sir, I don't know what I did with Daniel because I have no memory of the entire evening'. And Daniel didn't even know what planet we were on till we were walking to the stargate!"

Janet chuckled. "That stuff sounds really potent. Maybe I ought to take blood samples again this morning, see that the levels are going down properly."  
"I woke up with another hangover this morning, if that's possible. I think Daniel did too, I found him when I was getting coffee. So the Colonel might be in a bad mood."

"I'll keep that in mind. Do you want me to take yours now?"

"Sure, why not. You'll need to keep it on ice for when General kills us later. Debrief's at 1400hrs."

When Janet had finished poking needles in her, Sam went off to find Jack, Daniel and Teal'c. Jack was easy to find; he was in the Mess eating his way through the menu.

"Colonel."

"Major," he replied, his mouth full of cake.

"It's a bit early for cake isn't it Sir?"

He scrutinised her over his spoon. "Not really Carter. I woke up hung-over for the second time in as many days."

"Me too. Janet wants to see you in the infirmary."

"Does she now. Well she'll have to wait, I'm not finished." He gestured to the plates in front of him.

"Debriefing's at 1400hrs, Sir."

"Hmm. Best go in on a full stomach then hadn't I?"

Sam patted her fingers on the back of the chair for a few seconds. "Ok sir, I'm going to go find Teal'c and Daniel."

He nodded and she left him to eat in peace.

Daniel sat in his lab idly flicking through one of his textbooks. He was sure there was something he could be doing, should he feel the inclination to work, but he didn't. He felt frustrated over his lack of memories of the mission.

"Argh! You would think I would remember something important like a marriage. But no, I just remember the birthday of every Egyptian that ever lived!" He pushed the textbook off the desk in annoyance, but then felt bad and stood up to pick it up. As he straightened up, shutting the book properly as he did so, he noticed Sam standing in the doorway.

"Hi." He said shortly, putting the book back on the shelf where it belonged.

"Stressed?"

"Fed up."

"Janet informed me I should be enjoying the fact I snapped you up."

Daniel looked at her strangely and she wondered why she had just told him that. She felt a blush rising in her cheeks and chided herself. "She wants to see you in the infirmary before the debriefing. More blood samples."

"She's like a vampire." He stated dryly, switching off his desk lamp. He carefully followed Sam's lead at changing the conversation, wondering why she had told him she was supposed to enjoy 'snapping him up'.

"I think she is hoping that with enough blood she'd be able to separate the alcohol and have a sample to work with!"

"I wouldn't put it past her. You coming?"

"No, she already got me." She pointed to the plaster on her arm. "Going to go find Teal'c."

He nodded and they headed their separate ways.

Sam knocked on Teal'c's door and it swung open almost immediately.

"Hi Teal'c."

"Major Carter. Do come in." Teal'c stood back and gestured into his quarters. Sam smiled at him and stepped into his room, looking round as she did so.

"Wow, you've acquired loads more Star Wars Memorabilia!"

"I have."

"Janet wants you to pop along to the infirmary before the debriefing at 1400hrs."

He nodded. "I will make my way there immediately." He opened his door and looked at her.

"How is Daniel Jackson this morning?" He said casually.

"Fine." Sam replied, wondering why Teal'c was being so strange this morning. "I'll see you in the debriefing; I'm gonna go do some work." Teal'c nodded and Sam headed back to her lab, Teal'c instantly forgotten as she pondered over what Janet had said.

Daniel entered the infirmary and saw Jack finishing off a muffin on one of the beds. "You here for a blood test?"

"Uh huh. Doc went to get a coffee." Jack brushed his crumbs onto the floor and patted the bed next to him.

"So, Danny boy, how's married life?"

Daniel considered punching Jack, but knew it was futile – Jack always beat him in fights. He would have to settle for verbal abuse.

"Shut up Jack."

"Touchy. Mrs giving you grief?"

"Jack. Seriously. That's Sam you're talking about."

Jack put his serious face on and looked at Daniel closely. "I know. You should enjoy being married to her while you can!"

"Are you and Janet in league or something?"

Janet entered the room with a coffee in hand.

"In league in what?" She asked, setting her coffee down and going to fetch her equipment.

"Nothing. Doesn't matter."

Janet looked at Daniel as she took the Colonel's blood pressure. He looked like he needed someone to talk to as well. _Guess I'll have to talk to him after I'm finished with Jack._


	6. 6

A/N Oh my gosh, an update, I hear you cry. Yes, yes it is.

Hey, if there are any new readers out there, why aren't you writing as well?

Anyway, Chapter 6

(also, I know its annoying to do this, but any reviews to let me know y'all are alive; think my work is crap; correct an idea; criticise my spelling… all are welcome at this point. My muse is still away with the fairies. My beta wench is gonna help me get back on track sometime, so till then, I shall struggle on) am clearly a martyr for my art "cough"

"So Daniel," Janet started, bagging up the blood sample she had just taken from him. "How are you?"

He scrutinised her over the top of his glasses, wondering where the conversation was going. "You're the doctor, you tell me."

She smiled at the obvious Jackism and corrected him. "I meant emotionally."

Daniel nodded. "Well, I'm great. I'm missing an entire night of my life. A night where I got married to my best friend no less, and neither of us have any knowledge of it, and everyone's treating it like some big joke!" He sighed. "Sorry. I guess you could say I'm a little stressed." He smiled weakly.

Janet nodded sympathetically. "What do you think about the actual marriage, to Sam?" Daniel looked at her tensely and she felt it necessary to add on the end, "I'm asking as your friend, not Sam's."

He relaxed again and thought about it. "Sam seemed really anxious at first. I mean, when we woke up and found out what had happened. Now she doesn't seem bothered at all and I don't know what to think."

"Do you love her?"

Daniel looked startled at the idea. "What's love got to do with it?"

"I'm only asking because something must have happened for you two to decide to get married."

"I could love her." Daniel said quietly.

"Could?"

"If she loved me."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Janet studied the Archaeologist in front of her. "You ought to talk to her Daniel. Perhaps she feels the same. It's worth a try isn't it?"

"Is it? It could alter the relationship forever."

"Yes: For the better.

I've got an offworld team coming in soon so you're probably best being somewhere else when they get in here. I'll see you in the debriefing. Got to give the General the medical reports."

Daniel nodded and stood up, turning to Janet as he did so.

"Thanks for talking to me. And not offering your congratulations!"

"Oh, yes. Forgot about that – you ought to enjoy being married to a girl like Sam while you can!" She winked at him and he left the infirmary with a smile on his face.

A couple of hours later and SG1 filed into the briefing room after spending the morning in their respective offices. Daniel sat down next to Sam and smiled at her, remembering his vow to himself to do everything in his power to make this marriage easy for her.

She smiled back, appreciating his efforts for her. It might be inappropriate, but it worked. She felt herself relaxing. Hey, they were SG1 – they wouldn't let a little thing like marriage interfere in their brilliance. Jack and Teal'c watched them from the other side of the table and shared a smile of their own.

"I hope you two lovebirds will concentrate during the debriefing." Jack said wryly, wincing as he heard Hammond enter the room, Janet following him.

"I hope that comment was meant in jest, Colonel."

"Yes sir. Doc."

After the formalities were dealt with Hammond smiled at them all.

"Dr Frasier has informed me that your blood works showed very high levels of an unknown chemical, so while I will reprimand you for accepting an unknown drink from the natives-" he looked pointedly at Jack as he said this, "- I don't hold any of you responsible for the marriage that followed."

Janet watched Sam visibly relax in her seat at the General's words, and smiled to herself.

"Unless any of you have remembered something new about the night that you wish to share, you're dismissed. I'd like the most thorough report you can write from each of you, and we'll discuss drinking on missions before your next assignment. Major Carter, Doctor Jackson, if you could remain behind. Colonel, I will speak to you later."

Jack nodded and he, Janet and Teal'c left the room. The General turned to the two doctors, contemplating them silently. Dr Frasier had suggested to him that perhaps an annulment wasn't what they wanted, but he really couldn't see it himself. They had both looked really embarrassed at the turn of events which had led to yesterday's debriefing. True, over the years he had watched the two of them - hell, he even had some money on them in the pool, but looking at them now, he could see there were some definite communication issues that needed to be resolved before anything could happen.

Sam shifted uncomfortably in her chair and prompted the General to speak.

"Relax Sam," he said, looking not at the Major in front of him but at the daughter of one of his good friends. Both she and Daniel looked up and he smiled at them both.

"I'm not going to pressure you to get an annulment, because I feel it should be something the two of you sort through together. You don't need me to make the right decision, and I'll respect whatever you action you choose. I would ask only that you inform me of your decision as soon as it is made. And next time you go drinking, I ask only that you keep away from any chapels!"

Sam smiled and the General stood up. "Go off base and have a talk about it. I'm giving SG1 a couple of days down time to get over any last effects of the drink anyway."

"Thank you sir." Sam smiled and saluted him.

"Thank you General." The two turned and left the room together, and Hammond watched them leave, pleased. He'd prompted them in the right direction - that was all he could do.


	7. 7

A/N I can't believe it's been almost a month since I updated this. Sorry to anyone that had forgotten about the story's existance - yes it's still here I'm afraid.

* * *

Daniel followed Sam down to the locker room, waiting until they were somewhere private before speaking, but Sam beat him to it. 

"What do you think he means, 'work through it together'?"

She opened her locker like it was a casual conversation but Daniel could see her sneaking looks at him as she pulled out civvy clothes. Daniel opened his own locker and replied equally casually, "Oh, go out, have dinner, talk about things…"

Sam stopped what she was doing and looked at Daniel round the side of her locker door. "Are you inviting me out on a date Dr Jackson?"

Daniel leaned back and looked round his own locker door. "I am Major Doctor. Do you accept?"

"I do."

Daniel smiled and looked back into his own locker. "I'd be careful how many times you say that. It's already got us into trouble once."

Sam laughed and went back to getting changed. "Well, we don't know that we actually said that first time round."

"Is tonight ok? No time like the present."

She smiled as she pulled her top over her head. "Tonight's fine. Where will we go? What time?"

"I'll pick you up at 7? And I'll think of somewhere, dress up in case it's not O'Malleys!"

"Ok." Sam pulled into her jacket and shut her locker door. Daniel did the same.

"Need a lift home?" He asked, holding the door open for her.

"No thanks. I drove in." They walked together to the elevator and stood in silence waiting for it. The door opened and Jack stepped out to see his team members.  
"What did the General say? I'm seeing him tomorrow."

"He said we had to work it out together." Daniel said, stepping into the lift. Sam did the same.

"What do you mean, work it out together? What does that mean?" Jack called as the elevator doors slid shut.

"He's such a gossip."

"Yup." Sam agreed.

Daniel stood and looked in his mirror, wondering whether he had made the right clothing choice. The sandy trousers and grey shirt said 'Smart' to him and he wondered if that would be enough to impress Sam. Looking at his watch, he realised he was running late. It would have to do. He brushed his hair, frantically trying to make it a bit less 'geeky' than usual, before giving up and grabbing a jacket, keys and wallet and exiting his apartment.

Sam frantically rummaged around in her wardrobe again, hoping for some miraculous new discovery, but knowing deep down it wasn't going to happen. Damn. She looked back at the red dress on her bed. It was very red. Looking at her watch, she realised she didn't really have time to be fussy, and she pulled it on, scrutinising herself in the mirror. It wasn't bad. At least the dress fitted properly.

"I hope Daniel doesn't wear pink or orange," She said to the spider plant next to her bed. She giggled at the thought and picked out some strappy sandals to go with the dress. After applying a bit of light make up she was ready, and looking at her watch again she smiled nervously as she realised she was perfectly on time. Placing money and keys into a small bag, she headed downstairs to await Daniel's arrival.

She couldn't believe she was going on a date with Daniel. Or that she was this nervous about it. Getting a glass of water, she tried to reassure herself. 'I mean, how many people have their first date _after_ they're married?' she said to herself. 'At least I already know how committed Daniel is to the relationship'. She smiled at the idea and looked at her watch again. He was late. What if he didn't come? She dismissed that thought quickly though. It's Daniel. He would never stand her up deliberately. What if he got called into work? Sam had to admit that was a possibility, though they would probably have called her too. The doorbell rung and she jumped at the sound.

Daniel stood anxiously waiting on Sam's doorstep; aware that he was late and hoping she didn't mind. The front door opened and he was greeted by a vision in red. He looked her up and down and would have preferred to skip dinner, but he didn't think she'd appreciate the idea. Finally he found his voice.

"You look beautiful."

Sam smiled and stepped out, shutting the door behind her. "You look amazing too."

Daniel led her to the car and opened the passenger door for her. She smiled shyly at him and stepped into the car, before Daniel shut the door and walked around to his own side.

Once they were moving, Sam turned to look at him, marvelling at how good he looked in his shirt. She wouldn't mind skipping the meal, but she thought Daniel might not like the idea.

"So, where are we going?" She asked, more to get her mind away from thoughts of a naked Daniel, than out of genuine interest.

"It's a surprise." Daniel took his eyes off the road to smile at her. Sam settled back into the car seat and let Daniel take control of the evening, and he smiled as he noticed her relax.

They sat in silence as the drove, but it was the comfortable silence of friends that have nothing to say, not the awkward silence of strangers that don't know what to say.

Twenty minutes later they arrived at a small restaurant outside the town. Daniel opened the car door and took Sam's hand as he led her to the entrance. She gasped as they stepped into the building and she saw the twinkling candles and deep red walls. It wasn't really any surprise she had never been here before, none of her dates had ever warranted this kind of treatment. She felt a pang of jealousy as she wondered how Daniel knew about it. He seemed to sense her unease because he squeezed her hand and said "I read about them in a paper – they got very good reviews from couples." He smiled at her again as they were approached by a waiter and shown to their table. After ordering, they settled into a comfortable chatter as the various courses came. Both avoided the wine, smiling at each other when they noticed.

"Best not drink the native drink." Sam remarked. Daniel grinned and nodded.

They chatted about general things as they ate; Siler's latest injury, the weather, their latest projects. The time flew by and before they knew it the meal was finished and they were nibbling on after dinner chocolate mints. The bill arrived and Daniel insisted on paying it, much to Sam's dismay.  
"Daniel, really, that's not necessary."

He frowned at her and swatted her hand away from the receipt. "Sam, I'm paying for the meal. I want to. Consider it an apology for getting so inebriated that I don't remember our wedding night." The waiter waiting on them looked at Daniel shocked, and Sam giggled.

"Fine. Just this once."

The bill settled, Sam and Daniel stepped out into the night air. The air was warm and clear, and Sam peered up at the sky above her.

"It's all so beautiful. I don't want this evening to end." She whispered.

Daniel took her hand and looked up around. "Do you want to go for a walk? I mean, we still have to 'work things through together'."

"I'd rather not consider this a mission."

"Is that a yes?"

_When did I stoop to playing word games with Daniel?_ "Yes."


	8. Fate

**A/N I realise I haven't updated for centuries, but I have a genuine excuse for once! When I got back from uni for xmas, I couldn't connect my computer to the internet at home so I have had to wait till I got back to uni to connect. Sorry. And thank you to everyone who reviewed me over xmas. I was thinking about you all, even if I couldn't do anything about it. I'll be good now I'm back online and update regularly...**

Daniel gently led Sam away from the restaurant, towards the gardens. Walking down the gravel path away from the building, the darkness gradually increased until they had only the moon to see by.

Daniel smiled and looked across at Sam. "I love it when there's only the light from the Moon – it's almost eerie – but beautiful at the same time."

Sam looked up at the sky to the moon above them. "Yep. Though technically it's not light from the Moon, it's the light from the-"

"I think if Jack were here he would tell you to shut up at this point." Sam grinned and lowered her eyes to Daniel. "Good thing he's not here then isn't it?"

x x x x

The door swung open and Teal'c raised his eyebrow at the man stood before him.

"Have you come to lock me in the cupboard again O'Neill?"

"Was that a joke Teal'c?" Jack asked incredulously. "No, I came to see if you wanted to do something. I'm bored. No drinking though."

"Are major Carter and Daniel Jackson not available?" Teal'c asked, peering behind the colonel into the empty corridor.

"No they are not, as you no doubt well know." Jack scowled at Teal'c. "They have gone out to 'work things through together', or something."

Teal'c smiled and it didn't go unmissed by Jack. "I'll never look at you the same again, you realise this? Who knew you were an old romantic at heart?"

Teal'c nodded. "I am indeed old and romantic. Let us go to your house and kill aliens on your playstation."

Teal'c stepped out of his quarters, pulling the door behind him.

"Yeah, ok. I need to whoop some serious alien ass, and as we won't be going offworld for a while…"

x x x x

The gravel stopped crunching underfoot as Sam and Daniel left the path and started to cross a large lawn, the soft grass making no noise in the night air.

"It's so peaceful here. You almost expect there to be an ambush around the next corner."

Daniel raised his eyebrows amusedly. "Except that we are on Earth, and as far as I'm aware the Goa'uld wouldn't start their attack in the garden of a small out of town restaurant."

"Well, you never know, it could be a new tactic. Afterall, we wouldn't expect it."

"It would be rather unfortunate for them if we happened to be in the very garden they attempted world domination."

"We'd have to believe in fate then."

"Do you believe in fate?"

Sam fell silent as she pondered her answer. "Do you?" She asked in the meantime.

"Hey, I asked first!" Daniel cried, gently prodding her with his elbow.

"I know, but I don't know what my answer is." Daniel showed no sign of answering his own question so she carried on. "It's not a very scientific idea, is it? It almost requires the belief that another being is watching over us, and that's a little hard to believe when you travel great interstellar distances trying to stop people impersonating our Gods… As a scientist I would have to answer that there is no such thing as fate, everything is just a set of coincidences. As a human though, I would like to think we are all here for a purpose."

She turned to look at Daniel and he smiled at her, carefully taking her hand in his. She giggled at the gesture and he frowned playfully at her. "Well I'm not going to tell you my answer now if you're just going to giggle at me."

She pulled a straight face but Daniel shook his head. "Nope. Too late. You shall never know the thoughts I have on fate."

"Never?" Sam stopped and stood in front of Daniel, smiling innocently up at him.

"Well, you probably will do some day. I can't guarantee that I will remember my vow not to tell you." Daniel moved inches closer, pulling her gently to him, looking at her lips and not for the first time wondering what it would be like to kiss her.

"It won't be the first vow we've forgotten." Sam murmured.

"Ah yes." Daniel replied, realising that it wouldn't be quite right to kiss Sam right now. He let out a deep sigh, wondering whether it would ever be quite right to kiss her.

Misinterpreting the sigh, Sam squeezed Daniel's hands encouragingly. "Hey, cheer up! You could be married to the Colonel!"

Daniel grinned and squeezed her hands back. "It wasn't that I was sighing about. The marriage doesn't… doesn't… complicate things any more than the way they were before." He frowned as he replayed what he had just said in his head. With a puzzled Sam watching him, he took off his jacket and lay it on the grass.

He gestured to sit down and she did, before he took a seat next to her.

"That made no sense, sorry." Daniel wondered what the point in studying linguistics and diplomacy was if you couldn't construct a simple sentence for your best friend. "What I meant was; the marriage hasn't complicated anything that wasn't already complicated. Actually, I would say it probably made it easier."

Sam listened to Daniel trying to explain what he meant, and while she found the way he was getting confused endearing, she did wonder what he was talking about.

"Daniel?"

He paused and his eyes met hers, before glancing away again.

"How does accidently getting married make anything easier?"

Her tone was neutral – conveying no emotion, but still Daniel felt slightly affronted by the comment. He wondered whether to carry on with his explanation or not.

"Well." He faltered and began to get fiddle with the grass blades near his hand. Then he realised what he was doing and stopped, chiding himself for suddenly feeling so nervous. "Look Sam, I don't think this marriage is a bad thing." There, he said it. He could see Sam was thinking about something as well, and watched her pulling at some grass subconsciously.

"I don't think it is either." She said carefully, throwing away some grass blades and dusting her hands. "Why don't you think it is?"

Daniel smiled in spite of his nerves. "That's the second time you've done that this evening." 'I've never seen you so unsure of yourself' he continued in his head. Feeling more confident he smiled again.

"But this time I'll let it go. It's easier because all the pressure of having relationships within teams has been removed. General Hammond pretty much gave us his consent. So now it's just the two of us, and we just need to decide how to go on."

Sam smiled again and she saw Daniel smile as she smiled. Briefly analysing her own feelings, she wasn't surprised to find that any qualms she might have had over the past few days had dissipated over the course of the evening. She had no doubt of how she wanted to go on, but she wondered briefly if they would manage it.

"I know how I want to go on. I would love to be married to you Daniel."

She paused, waiting for a response. There was a yelp from Daniel and Sam raised her eyebrows – that wasn't expected. Then she shrieked.


	9. 9

**A/N Are you not impressed with my speedy updating? Have a couple of thank yous to do this time round. Thank you to Parvatti, Verb, Beth-TauriChick, Seeria Nix and Aphrodite Queen of the Damned for being so happy about my eventual update.  
Thank youto Katie MichelleBelle for making me giggle as I imaginedpeople doing the happy chapter dance. Why does Jack spring to mindwhen I think of that?  
Hello to Wren Maxwell, who hasconverted from the dark side andstarted reading SamDaniel. I'll try my best not to disappoint.  
Andwell done to Tixylixfor guessing the cause of the cliffhanger - and you thought I couldn't get any more cliched! And to Karone Evertree, now you mention it it should have been a squirrel because no-one would have ever guessed that (except you of course)!  
Wow, I imagine that's what being at the Oscars feels like. 'Cept there are thousands of people watching you say it. Here's chapter 9 anyway.**

Chapter 9

Timers designed to ensure the lawns for the restaurant were continually green clicked as they reached their programmed time. Somewhere in the recesses of the gardens a pipe started filling with water, and seconds later it started spraying quietly from the hidden sprinklers.

As Sam realised what was happening she dissolved into giggles of laughter and Daniel, watching her, started laughing as well.

It was a good a few minutes later when Sam lay back on Daniel's jacket and quietened down – only hiccupping occasional giggles of laughter. The sprinklers continued quietly with their job, showering her and Daniel in thousands of little diamonds.

Daniel lay back next to her and relaxed as the droplets landed coolly on his face.

"Well that kinda killed the atmosphere." He stated, looking at the stars and water mingling in the sky above him.

"Yeah." Sam replied, turning her head to face him seriously.

He heard her move beside him and turned to face her. He studied her face; the way her eyes were twinkling like the water drops on her skin, and the way her lips were still twitching with smiles.

"I would love to be married to you as well. I think we should make a go of it."

Sam grinned happily and Daniel felt his lip movement echo hers. "What, no more yelps?" She asked cheekily.

"I hope not," he murmured more to himself than her. He moved forward to kiss her, finally having reached the right time.

X x x x x

Jack groaned as his onscreen commander crumpled in a blur of red and Teal'c was left battling a room full of aliens on his own.

"I observe," Teal'c said over the noise of fighting and aliens dying, "that you are not your usual self O'Neill. In the television or out of it."

Jack 'hmmd' idly and watched Teal'c knock out four aliens with one blow.

"I wish you could do that in real life."

"Indeed." The level finished; Teal'c paused and revived his companion before continuing the game.

Jack picked up his controller from where he had placed it on the coffee table and glanced at the phone. "Do you think Dannyboy will be home?"

"I do not know O'Neill. But if he is it is unlikely he will appreciate a call this late in the evening."

"You don't think they're…?" Jack shuddered at the thought.

"As I said, I do not know O'Neill. But we should not attempt to contact either of them." Teal'c said firmly, turning up the volume on the playstation.

"Yeah," Jack drawled, glancing at the phone longingly.

X x x x x

Sam sighed happily and Daniel's arm tightened round her as they lay on the now crumpled jacket, gazing at the sky.

"This is the best date ever," she murmured lazily.

Daniel whispered his agreement and began tracing patterns on her bare arm.

"Mind you, the company's much better than usual."

Daniel chuckled. "I think as far as dating goes the military are somewhat lacking in their instructions."

Sam rolled onto her stomach and looked at Daniel. "Hey! I'm here with you aren't I?"

"Well what does the military teach you about where to go from here?"

"Well I don't know what they say in their mission protocol about dating, but I know that we were taught not to remain any longer than necessary in wet clothes."

Daniel raised his eyebrows in what he hoped was a look of surprise at Sam's innuendo, but he had just been thinking about how best to spend the remainder of the evening and had come to a similar conclusion.

Sam stood up and smiled at Daniel as he did the same and picked his jacket off the wet grass. He shook his jacket out in an attempt to remove the grass but only a few bits drifted away from the material - most stubbornly remaining.

"Next time I go on a date with you I'll have to remember to come in outdoor gear."

"It was your idea to sit down on the grass Dr Jackson." Sam replied as Daniel gathered her hand in his and they started to walk back toward the gravel path.

"Will our names change now that we are married? I mean, presuming we aren't getting an annulment-" Daniel shot a look at Sam and she shook her head. "You are serious though Sam? This will be a real marriage – if we don't get it annulled now with the General's help it could get complicated later on if you changed your mind."

"Daniel…" Sam tugged at his hand and got him to stop walking across the lawn. They stood looking at each other for a few moments as the sprinklers continued the job unfalteringly around them.

"Daniel," She repeated, her voice softer and quieter in the night air, "I'm not going to change my mind. Waking up… wow, it was only yesterday morning, it feels like it was days ago. Anyway, waking up yesterday morning was disconcerting, I'm not going to lie, but it felt reassuring having you there, and it perhaps made me realise something I should have realised a long time ago." Sam paused and looked down at where she was holding Daniel's hands between the two of them. "I just need to know though, you're not just doing this in some Daniel way of making the marriage easier are you?"

"In some 'Daniel way of making the marriage easier'?" Daniel watched Sam's face betray the emotions she was unwilling to describe and he pulled her in to a hug. "No I'm not doing this to make the marriage easier."

Sam's skin felt cool next to his own and he was reminded that they were still wet through and standing under sprinklers. "Sam?"

There was a muffled response from close to his chest which he didn't quite hear. "Sorry?"

Sam pulled back from Daniel's embrace and smiled at him. "I said I can hear your heart beating."  
"Erm, well that's good. Means I'm not dead."

"Makes a change. What were you going to say?"

"Just that it's starting to get a bit cool out here…"

"Yeah…"

They continued walking and got back onto the gravel path. A few minutes later they entered the restaurant car park and Daniel unlocked the car doors, holding Sam's open for her.

Turning the keys in the ignition, Daniel switched the heating on to full and put the car into gear.

"Would you like a coffee?"

Sam raised her eyebrows and smiled at Daniel's comment. "Your place or mine?"

"Does yours have coffee?"

"Hey, I'm not that bad! But your place is fine." Sam secretly held a desire to see Daniel's flat again. She didn't go there nearly as often as she would have liked. It was so very 'Daniel', with artefacts and notepads and textbooks everywhere, and she loved it.

X x x x x

Daniel unlocked his door and gestured for Sam to enter, switching the lights on in his apartments as she did so.

"Do you want a change of clothes?" Daniel dropped his keys onto the table and laid down the wet jacket.

"Umm, sure. Could I be a pain and have a shower as well? I didn't realise how it cool it was out there." Sam fiddled with her bag, not exactly nervous – but still slightly more tense than she ought to be.

Daniel watched her for a couple of moments. "Sure, you know where the bathroom is – I'll go and get you some clothes."

Sam entered the bathroom and smiled at the tidiness of it all. Standing in front of the mirror she couldn't resist a quiet giggle at the state she was in. Her hair closely resembled rat's tails, and her dress was quite clingy. She pulled off her shoes and was just about to undo her dress when there was a light tap on the door.

"Am I ok to come in Sam?"

"Yeah."

Daniel opened the door slowly, wielding a large towel, an old shirt and trousers and a hanger.

"They aren't as nice as your dress I'm afraid…"

He handed the clothes to Sam and was rewarded with a bright smile.

"They'll be fine."

"And this is for the dress." He gave her the hanger and gestured towards the kitchen. "I'll go and make some coffee." He backed out the room and left Sam to shower.

Sam slowly peeled off her dress, hanging it on the hanger had provided. She stepped into the shower and relaxed as the warm water started to flow. She had to consider at the events that had led her here. She was starting to look back on the mission with affection now. She wondered if the mission hadn't happened, if Daniel and she would have still gone on a date eventually. She switched off the water and proceeded to dry off and get dressed. She would have to skip the trousers though – there was no way they were going to fit.

"Daniel?"

Daniel entered his kitchen and switched on the kettle – the mundane routine of making coffee allowing him plenty of time to consider how they'd got where they were. He thought back to their conversation from earlier. It definitely did seem like there was a higher force at work. When you thought of all the things that had happened to bring them to this moment, it felt like it couldn't all be coincidence. His thoughts were interrupted as Sam called him from the bathroom and he went to the door to answer.

"Everything ok?"

"Do you have any shorts?"


	10. 10

A/N Forgive me father, for I have sinned. I left my one true love (the internet) for a cheap flirt (reality). It has used me and now I fear I shall be condemned forever… Will a few Hail Mary's save me from damnation? Or perhaps a chapter on the post-date evening round at Daniel's?

Sam curled up around her cup of coffee and waited patiently for Daniel to finish his shower. The shirt she was wearing had almost engulfed her, but strangely enough Daniel had stared a bit longer than was necessary when she had left the bathroom wearing the shirt and a pair of shorts. She smiled to herself and ran her hand through her hair - damp but clean from her shower.

The bathroom door opened and Daniel disappeared into the kitchen, coming back with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"All warmed up?"

"Yes thank you. You?"

"Same. Didn't realise quite how wet we'd got out there."

"Me neither."

Daniel sat next to Sam on the sofa and brought his coffee to his lips.

"You know," he started, putting his cup back near his lap again, "it does feel like there is some higher force at work. Some outside person working to get us together. Don't you think?"

X x x x x

"O'Neill, I must take my leave now."

"Yep. Don't want to hit rush hour."

Teal'c inclined his head slightly and looked out of the window. "Is it not unlikely that there will be any road users at this time?"

Jack followed Teal'c's gaze out the window. "It is quite unlikely… but ya never know!"

Teal'c opened the door and the night air stole gently in, prompting a sigh from Jack.

"Sorry about the whole losing thing T."

"That is quite alright O'Neill – I know that in battle you would fight with much better skills, and more use of the force, as they say."

"As they say, indeed."

Teal'c stepped out and nodded goodbye as he headed off down the drive. Jack gently shut the door and headed to the kitchen to get some aspirin. A mission with a marriage. Who would've thought it? Well Carter and Daniel suited each other. If they could both see past their geeky exteriors - which shouldn't be a problem. And Carter's geeky exterior was much more attractive than Daniel's… Jack shook his head slightly as if to remove the headache building up there, and proceeded to switch off the lights in the room and make his way up to bed.

X x x x x

Sam put down her own cup and shuffled round on the seat to face Daniel. "I thought I was never going to know your views on fate." She smiled cheekily and hugged her legs to her chest, watching Daniel over her knees.

He smiled and took a sip of his hot drink. "Well you should never have secrets in a marriage, so I ought to tell you what I think."

Daniel and Sam fell silent and both finished their cups of coffee slowly.

"Did you want to spend the night? I mean, I'm guessing we aren't going outside again this evening." Daniel took the empty coffee cup from Sam's hands and stood up. "I'll be right back – just putting them in the sink."

Sam nodded and Daniel left the room, followed seconds later by the sound of a tap running. She leaned forward and had a quick leaf through the reading matter on the coffee table before settling back on the sofa with a general science magazine.

Daniel washed and dried the cups in the kitchen, before putting them away and leaning against the washboard. _Ok,_ his brain said. _We seem to be in a weird situation. Sam is spending the night. She is now your wife. Where does she sleep?_ Daniel tried to think of anything that could help him with the etiquette of a situation like this. Nope, he came up blank. _Not really surprising._

"Shut up brain."

"Daniel, are you ok in there?" Sam's voice called from the living room.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tidying up. Back in a mo."

He suddenly felt quite awkward in his own home. There was no way he could do this without offending Sam. If he suggested they sleep in the same bed, he might imply things he didn't wish to imply. If he suggested he sleep on the couch (obviously Sam would have the bed) then he might imply other things that he didn't wish to imply._ Dealing with alien treaties is easier than this._

Sam sat flicking through the science magazine, looking at the pictures but not really giving the words her full attention. She wondered what Daniel was doing in the kitchen. Then she wondered what she was doing in his living room. Married they might be, but two days ago had she honestly thought of this kind of relationship with Daniel? She really didn't know the answer to that. Yes, she did want to remain married to him now that she was, but why hadn't she been prompted to do something about her friendship earlier? Even as she asked herself this question she knew she would never have done anything to jeopardise her friendship with Daniel. And telling him she might have serious feelings for him would definitely have done that. _Ahh, so you did know you had feelings for him before?_

Sam got up and headed for the kitchen, if nothing else to stop the debate running through her head.

"Daniel?" She found him leaning against the counter, deep in thought. "You ok?" She faltered. "Well, obviously you're not ok. I mean, as relationships go, this is probably the most hashed up one in the history of mankind right? We are friends. Who got married. _Then_ decided we possibly had serious feelings for each other. And now it's all wrong and backwards."

Daniel looked at Sam and shook his head. "It's not wrong. It's not how anyone plans to have a relationship, but… these things happen I guess." He shrugged lamely at the end of his sentence. "What I was actually thinking was," he paused, wondering whether to say what he had been thinking about or not. But hell, he wasn't coming to any decision on his own. "How can I sort out the sleep arrangements without offending you?"

Sam looked at Daniel's serious face and giggled. "Daniel. We have slept together before," Daniel raised his eyebrows and she quickly corrected herself, blushing. "Not like that. You know what I mean. Look. I don't think we should..." Sam cleared her throat. "We shouldn't get involved any more than necessary just yet right? General Hammond will want to know our decision, and… well, when… It should be when we've sorted out all the emotional issues. I think." Sam finished her sentence as lamely as Daniel had and watched him closely for his response. She knew what she had said was right, but still – it felt unfair.

"You're right Sam. You're welcome to my bed. I'll sleep on the couch." Daniel shifted slightly, getting ready to leave the kitchen.

"Daniel, I don't mind sharing a bed with you, I just don't think…"

"I know. I agree." He smiled as he gestured her out of the kitchen, switching off the light as they left.

Sam climbed into Daniel's bed, the same side as the side she had slept on in the bedroom on the planet. She guessed the other side was the side Daniel was used to sleeping on. She seemed to have guessed correct when Daniel climbed into bed beside her and started fiddling with the alarm clock beside him, before turning off the light.

They lay quiet for a few minutes.

"Daniel?"

"Hmm?"

"You don't think we've already… do you?" Sam vocalised something that had been nagging at the back of her mind, hoping Daniel would know what she was talking about. "I mean, I don't remember anything from that night. Anything."

Daniel turned to face her in the darkness. She could see the vague outline of his face and he smiled at her. "I really don't know Sam. I'm sure we wouldn't forget that."

"Why not, we forgot everything else."

"Come here."

Sam shuffled closer to Daniel and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sure it will all be fine in the end. If nothing else, it prompted us to admit our feelings."

"Yeah." Sam fell silent for a few minutes. "Did you know you had feelings for me before the mission? Did you have feelings for me before?"

"Yes." Daniel replied simply. He didn't know what else to say really. What else could he say? _I did have feelings for you but I had no intention of acting on them for fear of destroying a perfectly good friendship._ "Did you?"

"They were there. I just didn't realise what they were until this evening." Sam said sleepily.

Daniel smiled and tightened his grip around her.

"Night Sam."

"Night Daniel."

A/N Part two: Sorry if you were hoping for something more, you'll have to wait! The time is not right yet, my friend. Also I have some major plot twists for you that you completely aren't expecting! (except that now I have mentioned it you are…)


	11. 11

**A/N: Hello people that reviewed my last chapter. Again, I am sorry about the long wait. If there is anyone else floating about, care to drop me a line and let me know you are there? Cheers.  
Most things Janet is going to spout about in this chapter are true; though obviously I study rocks and not medicine, so if it is wrong then blame the family medical dictionary not me.**

_Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring._

Daniel rolled over as his hand scrambled for the phone on the table beside him.

He cleared his throat.

"Daniel? It's Janet."

"Janet?"

Daniel moved slightly in the bed so the phone wasn't muffled.

"Yes, Janet… Your doctor?"

"I know who you are Janet, I was just surprised. Why are you calling at this time of night?"

He glanced at the clock beside him reading 3:01, before smiling at the form next to him slowly opening her eyes.

"Jack's going down to the base. He says he isn't feeling too great."

"Hmmm."

"How are you feeling? Only it must be serious for Jack to ring me. At my house. At 3 in the morning."

Daniel heard her sigh down the phone.

"I feel fine." He put his hand over the receiver "How are you feeling?" He whispered to Sam.

"Fine" She mumbled back, confused.

"Sam feels fine too. It can't be the mission."

"Sam's there?"

Daniel slapped his forehead. He looked at Sam, who shrugged and nestled deeper into the duvet.

"Yes," he responded slowly.

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Janet?"

"I'm still here. I'm really sorry to do this Daniel but could you two come down to the base? Just in case. I'm going to head down there now and check Jack out but if it is something to do with the mission you'll probably all end up showing the symptoms. Well - maybe not Teal'c."

Daniel sighed but he had known it was coming. "Yeah. See you in awhile."

"Sorry Daniel. Tell Sam I'm sorry too."

"It's not your fault."

"We'll see."

Janet hung up and Daniel followed suit. "Sam?"

"Hmmm?" She opened her eyes again and looked at Daniel as he switched on the bedroom light.

"Jack says he's not feeling well. We have to all go down to the base and get checked out."

Sam muttered something that Daniel didn't catch and rolled on to her back.

Daniel climbed out of bed and started pulling on some trousers. Sam stood up and sighed again. "I don't have anything to wear."

"We'll have to go to the base via your house."

Sam nodded and went to fetch her dress from where it hung in the bathroom, and gather up her shoes and bag. Daniel appeared carrying keys and a wallet. "Ready?"

"I hope none of my neighbours see me."

Daniel grinned as Sam walked out the door in a baggy t-shirt, shorts and heels.

x x x

After a quick stop at Sam's house for trousers, a jumper and more sensible shoes, Sam and Daniel headed over to the base. Sam had also taken the liberty of packing a small holdall with some spare clothes. She had no idea why but she had a feeling she might need it. And she didn't really want to walk up her drive in shorts and high heels again.

Daniel had smiled as she put the bag in the car, but he said nothing as they drove to the base.

Entering the infirmary they saw Jack lying down on a bed while Janet spoke briefly to him, shining lights in his eyes.

"So when you say you don't feel well…?"

"Just what it says on the packet. I feel crap. Carter, Daniel! How you feeling?" Jack propped himself up on the bed and looked at them both suspiciously.

"Err." Daniel glanced at Sam. "We feel fine Jack. What's up?"

He was answered by Jack leaning over the side of the bed and vomiting into a conveniently placed bucket.

"Well there's that." He gestured at the bucket and lay back on the bed. "And I ache. Like I've just taken on a planet of goa'uld. By myself. And lost. Also my head feels stuffy."

Janet wrote something down on her chart and took Jack's temperature. Sam and Daniel sat down on an empty bed just as Teal'c appeared in the room carrying a glass of water.

"Major Carter. Daniel Jackson." He nodded to the both and placed the water next to Jack's bed. "Do you know what is wrong Doctor Frasier?"

"I think it might be to do with the alcohol." Janet said, more to herself than to Teal'c. She started prodding Jack in the stomach.

"Tell me if anywhere hurts."

Jack nodded and winced as she hit a tender spot.

"Ah." She stood up straight and wrote more notes on her chart.

"What does 'Ah' mean, doc?"

"Well, I'll have to do a couple of tests to be sure, but I think you are suffering from acute hepatitis." At Jack's bewildered look she explained. "It's an inflammation of the liver. Your eyes are yellowing, the nausea, the flu symptoms, tenderness of the abdomen – all classic signs."

"Liver?"

"Yes Colonel. You did drink a lot of alcohol." Janet underlined the words. "Also, I don't think the aspirin you've been taking for your hangover is going to have helped much. You two haven't been taking any have you?" Janet turned to Sam and Daniel.

"Err, not since we were on the planet." Sam replied.  
"Me neither." Daniel nodded towards Jack. "Why didn't Jack get ill earlier?"

"It can take anything up to two or three days for the symptoms to become apparent. The best thing now is bed rest. And a controlled diet… The liver is quite a resilient organ. It will recover by itself. You are going to have a couple of weeks downtime I'm afraid."

"Couple of weeks!" Jack seemed outraged at the idea. "That's ridiculous. I've drunk barrels of alcohol before and not been ill!"

Janet raised her eyebrows at him. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that Colonel. You'll have to remain here I'm afraid. Until we get fed up with you, at least."

Janet glanced at Sam and smiled. "Could I have a word with you Sam?"

Sam glanced at Daniel. "Yeah, sure."

Janet made her way to her office, stopping to give instructions to the nurse on duty. "Could the rest of you remain here for a few minutes? We'll just check the rest of you aren't suffering from your night of partying!"

Jack scowled and looked at Daniel. "This mission just gets worse and worse. You get the girl, and all I get is a damaged liver and a hangover I can't cure."

Daniel looked at Jack and smiled to himself. "Do you want me to fetch you a coffee? That's how I was curing mine."

Jack was just about to nod when the nurse came over to his bed. "I'm afraid not Dr Jackson; The colonel will have to settle for water for the next few days."

A grin exploded on Daniel's face and he smirked at Jack. "I guess we really won't be drinking on missions in the future."

Jack glowered back. "This is your fault Daniel."


	12. 12

**A/N Hello Karone Evertree, and hello everyone else that dropped me a line. In response to your enquiry, a jumper is a pullover I think in "American"? I guess that is yet another word that doesn't translate across the pond… and I was so careful to use 'elevator' instead of 'lift'!**

**Bet none of you expected the last chapter. Hehe. Surprise keeps romance alive, etc…**

* * *

"So?" 

"So, what?"

Janet sat down at her desk and gestured for Sam to do the same. "Don't play the innocent with me Major Carter. You were in a certain Doctor's bed and I want to know the gossip." Janet's eyes lit up gleefully. "Have you and Daniel decided your feelings? Did you…?" Janet looked for a telltale blush from Sam and was left disappointed. "You didn't!"

"I don't know, I don't know. No we didn't. But I think we will. I hope we will," she added to herself. Lying next to Daniel had brought to mind certain images from the morning of the mission. Certain 'muscle rippling' images as someone got dressed…

Janet grinned as the blush she had been waiting for appeared. "Haha, so you've thought about it?"

Sam studied her friend for a few minutes. "You know, you really are a gossip Janet Frasier." She smiled. "And I don't have to say that this doesn't leave the room…"

"Of course not!" Janet looked outraged at the very idea.

"No, I didn't think so. Well, Daniel and I discussed it, and we're going to wait a while. You know, until the effects of the mission have died down a bit, or something."

Janet nodded. "Very wise. Do you think your emotions are because of the mission?"

Sam shook her head. "Mine aren't. And Daniel says his aren't. It just took the mission to… prompt us in the right direction. I still wish I could remember the ceremony though."

Janet rubbed Sam's hand sympathetically. "I'm sure the memories will come back eventually. So what are you going to do with all this downtime I'm giving you?" Janet eyes began twinkling again.

Sam smiled and stood up. "I'm going to work on some projects in my lab, of course!" She opened the office door and stepped out into the infirmary again.

Janet sighed and leant forward onto her desk. She hoped Sam was joking, but with her you could never be sure. It was 4am. What was she doing with SG1 at this time in the morning? No other team seemed to give her this much trouble.

Half an hour later Janet was sure that, at least for now, no other member from SG1 was suffering from the amount of alcohol they had drunk, and she sent them away from the infirmary to let Colonel O'Neill get some rest.

"But I want to see you all before you leave base this evening" she warned.

Teal'c quickly left the infirmary and headed back to his own quarters, lest he were drawn into a conversation with either Daniel Jackson or Major Carter. He was disappointed that their evening had been interrupted by Colonel O'Neill, though of course he was worried about his friend. At least O'Neill had interrupted them with a genuine problem, and not just because he wanted a chat.

Arriving back in his room he took up his position for Kel'no'reem and thought about his project properly. He was pretty sure Daniel Jackson and Major Carter were both taking the marriage seriously. That was a start. And they appeared to have arrived in the infirmary at the same time, another good sign. He hoped the two of them would soon realise the feelings they had for each other. It had got to the point where Teal'c had actually wondered if they were deliberately not acting on their feelings - because no person would surely remain oblivious to their emotions for that long. He smiled as he thought back to the beginning of the mission and the comment Daniel Jackson had made that had prompted him to do something. Daniel's quiet enquiry to Teal'c as they had trekked towards the village on his opinion of fraternisation within teams had suggested, to Teal'c at least, that Daniel was becoming aware of his feelings. After that, Teal'c felt sure all the two of them needed was a prompt in the right direction, which he felt qualified to give. He smiled smugly and quietened his mind for Kel'no'reem.

Daniel, glancing around the infirmary and noting Teal'c had already left, gestured towards Sam. She nodded and they entered the corridor outside the medical area.

"Have you got any plans for today? When the rest of the world has got up, of course." Daniel casually pushed his hands into his pockets.

"Write my mission report? I guess we ought to write them sooner rather than later. Especially if Janet thinks we're all going to get alcohol poisoning some time soon." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Do you want to meet up later? After Janet's checked us over again this evening?"

Sam grinned and nodded. "Sure. I'll probably come see you in a while when I'm bored anyway." Daniel headed off to his lab and Sam headed to hers.

Daniel smiled to himself as he entered his lab and switched on his computer. It was good how things turned out. A couple of weeks would be just what he and Sam needed to sort out their marriage. Actually, he corrected himself, their _relationship._ It probably wasn't a good idea to think of it as a conventional marriage, which it most certainly was not. But maybe Sam would want to eventually… He drifted off into a daydream about life in the future with Sam. Would it work? Would they be able to work together? Would they have kids and be the traditional American family he had always wanted? In his dreams the answer was yes to all of that. Dreams are funny like that. He smiled again and set about writing up a report about a mission he had no memory of.

Sam smiled to herself as she entered her lab and switched on her computer. So Daniel wanted to see her again. Actually that was a stupid comment – obviously he was going to want to see her again. They did after all know how each other felt. But still, it felt nice to be invited on another date. Two dates in two days – how many other married women could claim that record? Not that this was a conventional marriage. In fact, she ought to stop thinking of it as a marriage all together. Her and Daniel were only best friends a couple of days ago. '_And you still are'_ a little voice in her head reminded her. She settled in front of her computer and started writing her report on the bits she remembered. Which wasn't much. And when she had edited out all the bits she didn't want the general to read, it didn't really make a good read at all. But she had a feeling the general didn't want to read in detail what it was like waking up to Daniel that morning, and also how fondly she looked back on the memory now. She distinctly remembered not being that calm about it at the time, but now she could fully appreciate the fact that she had been naked in a bed with Daniel. Which led her back to the question that she had asked Daniel the night before. Knowing that she didn't really want to think about it, and she wouldn't get anything new from churning the evidence over in her mind, she started to imagine a future with Daniel instead. A real marriage? A house with a white picket fence? Kids? She had never thought about it before, but now when she did it made perfect sense. She had to wonder at how something as glaringly obvious as her feelings for Daniel could have been hidden from her for so long.

She was just deciding on a name for the pet dog when there was a gentle tap at the door. She blushed as the man of her dreams (literally) walked into the room.

"Problem?" Sam looked startled and he smiled as he noted how guilty she looked as she fidgeted in her chair. "You looked deep in thought."

"Yes, I was just thinking about…" She quickly ran through the viable options of excuses in her head. "…the future?" _Stupid brain._

Daniel grinned at her. "Really? And?"

Daniel's cheeky grin unleashed a grin of her own. "I was deciding on a name for the pet dog."

"Got anything?"

"Nope. Apparently I am rubbish at deciding names."

"How about Lennon? After 'John bloody Lennon'?" Daniel laughed and gestured to the door. "Did you want some breakfast?"

xxx

Daniel opened his front door and smiled as he gestured Sam in before him. The rest of the day had passed quietly for them both in their offices. A brief meeting with General Hammond to inform him of their decision had resulted in a big smile on the General's face. He in turn informed them that an _all male_ team had been sent back to the planet to get a sample of the alcohol for Doctor Frasier, who had been quite insistent on the matter. With no sign of either of them developing any liver diseases any time soon Janet had sent them home with a promise that she would see them again in a week for one last blood test.

"So did you have any plans for this evening or were you just trying to lure me back to your flat again?" Sam settled down onto the sofa. A day spent daydreaming about the future _(Well she couldn't be expected to work at a desk on 3 hours sleep…)_ had made her much more confident and she grinned as Daniel sat down next to her.

"No plans. Takeaway and a dvd? I don't think I'm up to anything more."

"Me neither. I don't mind lack of sleep when we're on a mission because there are lots of things to keep us active, but sleep deprivation followed by sitting at a desk…"

"Strange isn't it?"

"Hmm."

"Chinese or Indian?"

The takeaway ordered, delivered and mostly eaten and the film chosen, the two of them settled back on the sofa with a sigh of appreciation.

"Remind me again why we are watching this film?" While the film hadn't been Daniel's first choice, he secretly didn't mind watching it, and had actually seen it before if truth be told. And watching it with Sam would be different to watching it by himself anyway.

"Because it is romantic and funny and they are two best friends that get married, therefore proving that it is possible," Sam replied in between bites of lemon chicken.

Daniel glanced at her and back at the screen. "But they fall out and try to get divorced."

Sam looked at Daniel. "I knew you had seen it before! And they get back together in the end." She put her plate down on the table next to Daniel's and snuggled up closer to him.

Xxxx

"Daniel?"

Daniel brushed Sam's arm lightly with his fingers as they lay together on the sofa watching the end of the film. "Hmm?"

"Do you think it's possible to love someone for most the time you've known them and just not realise?"

His fingers paused on their journey up her forearm.

"Yes." His fingers resumed their journey and Sam fell silent for a few minutes, apparently thinking this over.

"Daniel?"

"Hmm?"  
Sam turned to face him, and studied his face as he studied hers. "I love you." It was said barely above a whisper but it was loud enough for Daniel to hear. Her eyes locked on his as she searched for a sign that he felt the same way. Daniel pulled her closer until they were centimetres apart and looked closely in her eyes and at the honest emotion in them.

"I love you too Sam." He moved forward to kiss her and a gentle sigh escaped her as Sam realised she had been holding her breath. Daniel's lips touched hers with more confidence than the night before and she felt herself melting in his arms as his lips demonstrated his feelings to their full extent. Hers responded in kind and she felt her heart fluttering as the passion increased.

As the soundtrack to the film kicked in Sam pulled back and looked at Daniel. "Shouldn't we be surrounded by rain right now? Or sprinklers in our case?" She grinned at him and he nodded.

"If you want we could go get that touchstone off Madrona and arrange a thunderstorm…"

"Too much effort." Sam leant in and initiated another kiss, slowly moving on top of Daniel as she did so. Their tongues explored each other thoroughly began a game of twister in which there were no rules. As the credits finished rolling Daniel gently finished the kiss and stroked Sam's face.

"See, they worked it out in the end." She murmured, gesturing to the tv.

Daniel agreed and switched off the tv with the remote. Sam lay her head on his chest and idly began tracing patterns on his arm.

They were still there an hour later when Sam had drifted off to sleep and Daniel started from a sudden dream. Sam murmured slightly at the movement and Daniel opened his eyes and looked about him.

That dream had been so vivid; he could've sworn he was back on the planet. There had been a celebration going on, in his dream. _Was it a real memory?_ There had been a lot of drinks being passed around. _It was probably real. _It had looked like a wedding celebration. _Was it his?_ He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right, but the sound of Sam's breathing reminded him that everything was fine, and he gently nudged her to wake her.

"Sammy?" He whispered quietly as she woke up.

"Hmm Danny?"

"Do you think we could move to the bedroom?"

Sam smiled. "Maybe." She opened her eyes and they both made their way into the bedroom before settling down to sleep again.

"Sam?"

"Yup?"

"Have you had any flashbacks yet?"

Sam opened her eyes and looked at Daniel. "No, have you?"

"I don't know. I think so. Just now. Of a celebration. Ours?"

"Maybe. Or a dream." Sam shut her eyes, and Daniel soon joined her.

* * *

**A/N2 And the guessing may start for what film Sam and Daniel were watching... Answer with the next chapter!**


	13. 13

**A/N Despite the pitiful attempt at guessing the film in the last chapter (none of you tried) I can reveal that the film was Sweet Home Alabama. Shamefully in Millie's top five greatest films of all time. Meh, I can't be amazing all of the time.**

**Also I made up the members of SG10 after the last lot died in that episode with the time dilation thing. You can "borrow" Major Sanders if you want to but surely creating your own military men is more fun.**

* * *

"Major Carter?" 

Sam looked up from the experiment she was working on as Sergeant Harriman stuck his head round her door. "I'm just informing you that the debriefing with SG10 is due at 1100hrs. The general has asked SG1 to attend. Except Colonel O'Neill of course. How is he?"

Sam and Daniel had been in to visit the Colonel when they had arrived at the base at 0900hrs and he had been asleep. According to the nurses he had been up most the night being sick.

"He's asleep I think. Otherwise I'm sure he is still grumpy about a few weeks downtime."

Sergeant Harriman nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, Major?" Sam looked up from her work again, "Congratulations on your marriage. I know it was impromptu, but still."

Sam stared at the Sergeant, trying to decide whether to glare or accept the congratulations politely. The decision was made for her as Walter hurried away from her lab.

Walter, once realising his mistake regarding the details of the marriage, had been quick to circulate new rumours with the real facts: Sam and Daniel had got married! This turned out to be much more interesting gossip, mostly because it was so unexpected by people outside of SG1's circle of friends. It also had a more lucrative offer in the pool due to its high odds against them.

At 1000hrs the gate alarm sounded and checking his watch, Daniel guessed SG10 had arrived back from the planet. He wondered whether to meet them on their way to the infirmary and glean any details he could about the marriage ceremony, but he thought better of it. After all, he guessed that was why SG1 had been asked to attend the debriefing. And Janet would not be amused if a team arriving onworld were slowed down on their way to the infirmary to be checked out. Especially when they had chemicals she wanted to play with.

Ten minutes before the debriefing was to start he made his way to the briefing room, bumping into Janet who was heading the same way.

"How are you this morning Daniel?"

Daniel knew what she was really asking but chose to ignore it. "No signs of alcohol poisoning yet Doc!" He said cheerfully.

"I don't think you'll get it now. Most, if not all of the alcohol will be out of your systems by now and you haven't shown any symptoms yet."

"Did you get a sample of the alcohol?"

"Yep." Janet smiled. "I'm going to start running tests on it after this debriefing."

"And SG10? No unexpected… relationship developments?"

Janet grinned at Daniel. "They were an all male team. And no. And no one touched the drink either. Seems they learned the lesson from Colonel O'Neill."

Arriving at the briefing room they found the rest of the room ready to start. Janet slipped into a seat next to Sam and Daniel settled down next to Teal'c.

"Right, SG10, ready when you are." General Hammond motioned for them to start their report.

"Well Sir, the settlement was pretty much the same as Colonel O'Neill suggested it to be," began Major Sanders, the commanding officer. "It really was like a 60's flashback. Had I been around in those days. We obtained a sample of the drink SG1 drank and have already given it to Doctor Frasier for study."

Janet nodded at this comment.

Sanders looked around the table to his team members, who seemed to prompt him to say something.

"We asked about SG1's visit Sir. I'm afraid I have some… unexpected news."

"Oh, what's that? Did Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c get married as well?" General Hammond smiled at his own comment, before gesturing apologetically at Teal'c.

"Err, No sir. I'm afraid it was Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter."

Time froze. Literally. Daniel felt his own heartbeat stop as he took in what the Major had said.

"What!" It was Sam that broke the silence, suddenly standing up. She went very pale and seemed wobbly on her feet. "I'm going to be sick." Turning around quickly she ran from the room.

Janet got up to follow her. "Excuse me Sir."

The General gestured vaguely in the direction of the door. "You're excused."

Teal'c was next to break the silence that filled the room on Janet's exit. "What do you mean Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter got married?" This was not how he had planned it.

Sanders shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He too had been shocked when the man in the village had corrected him on the details. One of his team members had pointed out that SG1 didn't actually have any memories of the marriage so it was an 'easy' mistake to make. He glanced at Dr Jackson, who seemed to be taking the news relatively well. Well, he hadn't yet run from the room, which was a start. Unlike most of the base, he hadn't been that surprised that Carter and Jackson had got together, and he really hadn't wanted to be the one that broke the news.

"Well it seems that SG1 misinterpreted the information given to them on the morning after the night before. It was Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter that got married, not Dr Jackson and Major Carter."

Daniel watched his house with the white picket fence fall down in front of his eyes.

"Are you sure?" This time it was General Hammond that quizzed the Major.

"Yes Sir. The man seemed pretty confident on the matter. It appears he thought that was why Colonel O'Neill was so angry the next morning with him. Although he confirmed with some flowery nonsense that he didn't marry them but the sun and moon did."

General Hammond glanced at Dr Jackson. He was the only one in the room that knew Sam and Daniel were going to see if the marriage could work, and he could see all their plans crashing down as the doctor sat quietly at the table staring at the woodwork.

"Is that all Major?"

"Yes Sir. Well we have some flower samples for the botanists Sir, but that can wait." He gestured to his team members. "With your permission Sir?" The General nodded for them to leave, and SG10 left the room quickly, feeling awkward about the turn of affairs.

"Did you see his face?"

"And hers."

"Listen." Sanders turned around to face his team. "Don't mention this to anyone ok?"

"No Sir."

"They need to sort it out for themselves. It's not fair for everyone to keep talking about it. Weird things happen on missions occasionally. What if I had married you Lieutenant?"

"Well that's different Sir, because we're..."

"- Friends, which is what Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill are. Got it?"

His team nodded their agreement and they headed down the corridor.

**A/N2 Haha. Next update in two days hopefully.**


	14. 14

**A/N Ok so some of you have been playing 'guess the plot' in the last chapter reviews... I'm not saying what is going to happen - you'll have to wait and see! Haha.**

**I'm off to look at rocks in Scotland for a week (I'm a geology student - it's not some weird fetish) so I can't update till the 3rd Oct at the earliest. Hence why... there are two chapters up now! To keep you going - so don't read it all at once! Peace and Love, in the words of the John Lennon man.**

* * *

"Sam?"

Janet's enquiry was met with silence. "Samantha, can I come in please?"

Janet leaned against the locked door to Sam's lab. It hadn't been too difficult to find out where the Major had gone – she just followed the bewildered faces of passing servicemen down the corridors.

"Go away."

Sam's voice was muffled and it didn't take a good friend to realise that she was crying.

"Sam, let me in. Come on sweetie, I can help." Even as she said that she wondered what the hell she could do in this sort of situation.

"Yeah, right." Sam apparently agreed.

"Well, ok. We can sort something out together."

There was a sound of a key being turned in the lock and after waiting a minute to see if Sam opened the door, Janet took the initiative and entered Sam's lab, to find Sam sitting against the wall with her arms around her knees.

"Aww sweetie." Janet shut the door and hurried over, pulling Sam into a hug.

"I hate that bloody planet. Why did they have to change everything?" Sam's tears slid down her cheeks and brushed them away, frustrated.

Janet wondered what to say. "But you still love Daniel. And Daniel still loves you."

Sam snorted. "Yeah, because he's going to want me now I have married his best friend. Oh god, this is such a disaster. Why did SG10 have to go and say something. We might never have remembered."

"Sam."

"It's not fair."

"You know what you need to do sweetie. You're going to have to talk to Daniel. He's probably feeling the same as you" _Or worse_, she added silently in her head "…and you may need to talk to the Colonel as well, he might not know yet."

Sam scoffed again. "Oh I'm pretty sure the rumours will have reached him already."

Janet nodded her agreement. "You're going to have to talk to them both. And Teal'c perhaps ought to be there too. This is going to affect all of SG1; you need to sort through it together."

Sam nodded and cleared her throat. "I'm going to do some work. I'll come and see the Colonel at 1ish, after I've sorted myself out." She smiled weakly. "He kept saying 'It could be worse, you could be married to me Carter'. He was right."

Janet got to her feet and pulled Sam to hers. "If you need to talk Sam…" Janet left the offer hanging in the air.

"I know. Thanks Jan."

Janet hugged her again and left the room.

Sam rubbed her eyes and went to sit at her desk. Perhaps the best idea would be to ignore this for a while and do some work. At least until the shock had worn off. She leant forward and switched on the equipment she had been working with earlier.

x x x

"Doctor Jackson?" General Hammond waited until the door to the debriefing room was shut by Teal'c, who had been instructed to go and break the news to Colonel O'Neill before the gossip reached him.

The archaeologist in front of him continued to stare at the table. "Daniel?"

"This is a mess."

"It is son, but it can be sorted out."

Daniel looked up at the General and shook his head. "Can it? Really? Sam and I… we were going to make a go of it. I thought we…" His voice faltered. "I thought we loved each other. Why did she marry Jack?"

"I don't know doctor. But you ought to talk to each other. She would never have said she would make a go of it if she didn't have genuine feelings for you." General Hammond rubbed his forehead. This was not how he had wanted things to turn out. Why was life with SG1 always so complicated?

"And what about the frat rules?"

The General too had just been thinking the same thing. "We'll sort that out later. You were all under the influence of alien…cooking."

"Well Jack will be happy. He was complaining that I got the girl and all he got was a sore liver."

General Hammond smiled. Typical Jack.

"Go and talk to them both Daniel. SG1 have plenty of downtime anyway. There's plenty of time to sort it out before the Colonel is ready for another mission."

"Why did SG10 say anything? It wasn't like anyone had any memory of the marriage. They could've just pretended."

"Doctor. You know they couldn't do that. What if you had started getting your memories back? Not to mention the fact it would be illegal."

Daniel stood up. "I'm going to go do some work in my office. I'll be around if anyone wants me."

Daniel left the room and moments later Doctor Frasier entered.

"Well?"

"I think she is in shock."

"They both are."

"Maybe it wasn't a good idea to prompt them into sorting out their feelings."

"Yes, with hindsight that was a bad move. But we could never have known how things were going to turn out!" General Hammond picked up the notepad in front of him and stood up. "How's the Colonel taking it?"

"I haven't seen him yet. Does he know?"

"I sent Teal'c to tell him. Do you think they can work through it?"

"Major Carter and Dr Jackson, or SG1?"

The General considered. "Both."

Janet shrugged her shoulders and followed the General out of the room. "They need to talk to each other about it. All of them do. As long as they are honest... I don't know."

The General nodded. "Keep an eye on them Doctor, I want to be informed of any developments. And have a word with Teal'c about it. I have a feeling he knows something he hasn't been telling us."

x x x

"What?"

Teal'c nodded.

"I'm going to be sick again." Jack leaned over the side of the bed and retched into the bucket beside him. This bucket was swiftly becoming his enemy. As was his body.

"Ok." He sat up in bed again. "No. No and no."

"It is true O'Neill. The man Major Sanders spoke to was sure of the matter."

"The John Lennon man! What would he know! He was probably as drunk as we were when he performed the ceremony!"

Teal'c raised his eyebrows.

"Fine fine. It's true. Can't we just pretend that it was Sam and Daniel? Who would know any different?"

"They would. As would everyone who was in the debriefing," Teal'c stated.

"Of course. Meaning soon the whole base will know. Shit." Jack rubbed his face.

"How did Carter take it?"

Teal'c looked at the man in front of him. "I believe her exact words were 'I'm going to be sick' before running from the room."

"Ahh. Like me then." Jack glanced with distaste to the bucket beside him. "And Daniel?"

"He went very quiet and still. I believe the General is talking to him now."

"Ahh."

Jack was quiet for a few minutes. "How much do you think it has ruined the whole Carter Jackson relationship you were plotting on?"

Teal'c considered the problem carefully. "Quite badly," he said at last. "Major Carter and Daniel Jackson both have a habit of ignoring their feelings." Teal'c looked at O'Neill again. "What are your feelings on the matter O'Neill?"

Jack looked up at his friend and raised his eyebrows. "On Carter? Yes. But no. Big no. She is in love with Daniel remember. And I can live that. Really. Perhaps once upon a time. But no, definitely not now." Jack paused. "Can you ask her to come and see me? I'm pretty sure she isn't going to come otherwise."

Teal'c nodded and turned as Janet entered the room.

"Doc!"

"Colonel. How are you feeling?"

"Well I have married my 2IC and ruined pretty much any chance of happiness between her and my other best friend... And I've been sick again."

"I'm sure you haven't ruined any chance of happiness." Janet answered his comments automatically and started tidying.

"I shall take my leave O'Neill."

Jack nodded and turned to Janet as Teal'c left the room.

"Doc, have you seen Carter?"

Janet looked at the man in the bed and wondered what to say. She knew what Jack's feelings on Sam had once been, and she also knew they had once been reciprocated by Sam as well.

Jack saw Janet's indecision and understood the situation. "I don't want to be married to her Janet. I mean, I'm not complaining, but" He paused as Janet raised her eyebrows at him, "I want her and Daniel to get together. I really do."

Janet nodded. "She's a bit shocked."

"Yeah. Well she's not the only one."

"You need to discuss it. You all do. Individually and together. You can work past this. There's no reason for it to become anything more than an amusing story in the history of SG1."

"I know. Teal'c has gone to find her before she starts avoiding me. Which isn't too difficult in my present state. Have the rumours started circulating yet?"

Janet shook her head. "SG10 seemed to have been very discreet on the matter."

"I imagine we have Sanders to thank for that."

Janet turned to the door as Sam entered.

She glanced back at Jack and gestured towards her office. "I have paperwork to do…" She hurried out of the room and shut the door behind her.


	15. 15

**A/N And the second update today: Good old Sam Daniel/Jack love issues! Can't go wrong with a formula like that! Ok, you can, but I hope I haven't. Needless to say, it will be Sam / Daniel so any readers still hoping otherwise are going to be left disappointed. Don't say I didn't warn you!**

* * *

Sam watched Janet leave the room and turned to the Colonel. "You wanted to see me Sir?" 

"Enter my office Carter." Jack gestured expansively around the infirmary, as Sam raised her eyebrows and sidled slowly up to the bed.

"So." Jack wondered how to start the conversation. "You and I got hitched." Excellent. That's why Daniel went on the diplomacy missions.

Sam nodded at his bluntness. At least the conversation would be straight to the point.

"Obviously, we didn't intend to."

Sam shook her head.

"And we don't intend to remain err… Husband and wife?"

Sam shook her head furiously.

"Excellent. There we are then. Problem solved. General Hammond will help us get it annulled and that will be that."

Any hopes Colonel O'Neill had of getting the problem solved that quickly evaporated as his 2IC began to speak.

"Aren't you wondering why we did it Sir?"

He sighed and fidgeted with his blankets a bit. "I don't know Carter. I, at least, was completely 'off my head' as they say."

"Evidently I was a lot more drunk than I thought I had been too. No offence Sir," she added as Jack pulled a hurt face at her. "But still. You and I?"

"Carter. Sam. I've guessed your feelings on Daniel, and I'm pretty sure he has the same ones for you. Let's be honest, a marriage between us to would no doubt end in disaster. Just as any relationship would've done. I really am rooting for you and Danny boy."

Sam nodded and smiled. "Thanks Sir. Well that's one problem solved, at least." The smile disappeared from her face as Jack watched her.

"Go talk to him Carter. Geez, it's a wonder you two ever actually noticed your feelings for each other!"

Sam smiled once more and stood up. "See you later Sir."

"Yes. Come and see your husband before you go home" he shouted after her as she left the infirmary.

Daniel finally put down his pen and looked at his clock. Ok, he had ignored the problem for about two hours, and nothing had become any clearer. Nor had a certain Major come to visit him. Not that he had been expecting her to. He knew how unconfident she had been when they had first woken up four mornings ago and this latest development wasn't going to have improved matters. And he had seen first hand her reaction to the news. He knew that he still loved Sam, which surely proved that his feelings weren't just because of the emotions surrounding the mission. _But Sam's feelings were obviously not as clear cut as that. She must still have feelings for Jack, otherwise why would she have married him? And if she did, why did she say she loved him last night?_ Realising that his thoughts were running around in circles and he was getting nowhere he stood up and headed over to Sam's lab.

He was disappointed when he got there to find it empty. Usually, when a problem came up you could guarantee that Sam would be in her lab working on something. Obviously this time the problem was too big for physics to fix. He loitered for a few minutes, wondering if she had gone to fetch a coffee. He headed over to her desk and looked at the equipment set up there. She did seem to be in the middle of an experiment. Daniel flicked the notes in front of the work and smiled. Someone hadn't been concentrating on their work. There were doodles in the margins of the pages and quite a few unfinished calculations. He looked up as he heard footsteps approach.

"Daniel!" Sam stopped in the doorway to her lab as she noticed the archaeologist behind her desk.

"I was just…" He gestured at the experiment.

Sam nodded and entered the lab slowly. "We need to talk."

Daniel looked up from the equipment he had been gesturing to; surprised that Sam had spoken first.

"Daniel, I meant what I said last night."

Daniel ignored what she said and turned to the matter that was bothering him. "Why did you marry Jack?"

"What? That's a bit unfair Daniel; you know I don't remember anything. I don't know why I married him, but I can assure you I have no feelings for him beyond friendship."

"You used to."

Sam agreed slowly. "Yes, but that's in the past."

"Evidently not."

"Yes it is," she replied firmly. "I don't know why we got married but Jack feels just the same way about it as I do and we're going to get it annulled as soon as possible."

Daniel nodded at her words. "You just called him Jack."

Sam sighed at Daniel, exasperated. "I don't think the situation really calls for the use of rank does it? It's fair to say we broke the frat rules a while ago."

Daniel moved around to the same side as the desk as Sam and leaned against it.

"Maybe it's a good idea we haven't got too involved already. This isn't going to work is it?"

"What?" Sam echoed the word she said earlier.

"Well you've married your commanding officer and maybe it would be better for SG1 to let this die down first."

"Better for whom exactly? Me? I'm the one stuck in the middle of this. Or you? Now that you know how I feel you're just going to walk away?"

"Sam, do you actually love me, or were you just thinking you did because of the marriage and the rush of emotions that followed?"

Sam stood there and looked at Daniel. Then she slapped him across the face and ordered him out of her lab. He left without a word.

_How can he be so…so… condescending! To stand there and preach about my feelings!_ The voice in her head continued to berate him for the next few minutes. She flexed her fingers. They tingled from when she had slapped him and she had to admit even she was surprised by the force of the blow. Maybe she was slightly tenser than she had realised.

Sitting down at her desk she picked up her pen and wondered what to do. She glanced down at the calculations in front of her and began colouring in a little house she had drawn in the margins earlier.

After reaching the elevator Daniel leant against the wall and sank to his knees. The slap Sam had dealt him still stung across his cheek. _But_, the voice in his head confirmed, _I was well within my rights to ask that._ _She must have something to hide otherwise she wouldn't have responded so… violently._ The other voice suggesting maybe he had been a bit of jerk was quietened down and as Daniel left the elevator he was convinced Sam was hiding her true feelings from him.


	16. Projects

**A/N I'm back peeps. And the wilderness that is Scotland didn't destroy me, so you can all have the next chapter! And spacemonkey1129, I too am a J/S and S/D shipper, and I don't think it is weird at all!  
****Also, I am glad I have made some of you confused. My friend says that she reckons the story is "well complicated" after I tried to explain it to her but I reckon it will all make sense in the end. It makes sense to me anyway so stick with it chaps!**

**Also if this chapter is a bit weird it is because I wrote it while listening to the theme from armaggedon. The actual orchestral piece not the Aerosmith song. And the music is quite dramatic!**

* * *

With a stalemate apparently having been reached by Sam and Daniel, both kept out of each other's way for the next few days. This wasn't difficult considering they worked on the same base. Sam worked on projects in her lab and generally ignored any knocking on her door, and Daniel did the same in his office. 

Their lack of communication didn't go unnoticed by Janet, who observed them on the couple times the two had unintentionally crossed paths. Taking Sam's final blood test a week later she decided to take the bull by the horns.

"I took Daniel's blood earlier."

"That's nice," Sam replied noncommittally.

"Is something up? With work? Only I notice you've been busy in your lab a lot this week."

"Just working. On projects."

Janet said nothing and finished taking a blood sample but her expression said it all. _What projects?_

Sam sighed and glanced at her friend. _Why did life get so complicated some times?_

Janet, sensing Sam was finally in the mood to talk, stuck a plaster over the needle mark on her friend's arm and gestured towards her office. As interested as she was to know the details regarding Sam and Daniel's fight, she didn't really want to discuss it in front of a bored Colonel O'Neill, who after a week in a bed was probably willing to do anything for a bit of gossip.

"I'm guessing the reason you are so busy is Daniel," she said after shutting the door.

"He hasn't apologised."

"For what?"

"We had a fight. And he said something that was out of order. I'd expected him to say sorry by now. I mean, Daniel doesn't usually bear grudges, does he?"

Janet shook her head. "Why would he be bearing a grudge?"

Sam looked at her hands. "I may have slapped him. Quite hard actually - I think the force surprised us both."

"Samantha Carter! What did he say that was so outrageous?"

Sam explained the argument.

Janet considered Sam's words. "Well, maybe you were a little harsh. I'm not saying he was right quizzing you, I'm just saying maybe slapping him was a bit unnecessary."

"He's acting like I've been swooning around in love with the Colonel since the day we met and now we're married it should be a dream come true!"

"Sam. Daniel might be Daniel but he's still just a guy. Maybe he didn't notice that you weren't in love with the Colonel any more."

"Well he can't think that much of me if he thought I was just going to pretend I was in love with him for the foreseeable future."

"I think you should go talk to him Sam. And stop being an idiot." Janet added.  
"Maybe tomorrow." Sam mumbled. "I'm heading home now anyway."

"Fine. But sooner rather than later."

x x x x

"Here is a novel idea Daniel Jackson. Talk to her. Major Carter is not a mind reader." Teal'c frowned at his friend and a look of boredom passed momentarily over his face as Daniel didn't leave. As good as it was to have his friend and team member make time to see him, conversations that rotated around Major Carter weren't really what Teal'c had in mind when it came to stimulating conversation. Sure, he had been interested at first. This had been a project of his after all, but as the situation passed unresolved from one day to the next the whole matter had grown tiresome.

"I cannot believe you haven't spoken to Major Carter for a week. Go talk to her now and stop this nonsense."

Teal'cs straight forward talking seemed to have made an impact on Daniel's thoughts as he stood up and turned to leave.

"I'm going home now anyway. Have a good night's rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Teal'c winced. "And Major Carter, you'll talk to her?"

"She's already gone home for the night Teal'c. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"You had better Daniel Jackson. Or I shall make you an offer you can't refuse." Teal'c smiled to himself.

Daniel paused and studied Teal'c. "Godfather?"

"Do you like it?"

"No."

Teal'c mimicked a Marlon Brando head nod and Daniel left the room shaking his head.

X x x x

The kiss, tender at first, became more passionate and both let out sighs of appreciation as they drew breath. Their hands had started out interlocked but now began to unwind from each other and tentatively explore.

As Daniel gently lowered Sam onto the bed she stared into the eyes of the man above her. His eyes bewitched her – letting her float away and yet keeping her tethered to him.  
"Daniel?" She whispered his name so breathlessly that Daniel felt his heart flutter.

"Sam?" He replied, gently showering her with kisses.

"I love you."

Daniel stopped kissing her and looked her steadily in the eyes. It was very sobering – they pulled you in and dared you to look away again, but they enticed him in a way he hadn't thought possible, and showed a range of emotions no words would ever describe.

"I love you too."

Sam leant forward and brought her lips to his, and minutes later the last physical barrier between them was removed as Daniel gently slid off the last item of Sam's clothing. She murmured as his fingers danced on her skin and she ran her own hands along his torso, feeling the muscles she had only glimpsed at before.

They became one with a rush of emotion that left them breathless and as Daniel began to move back and forth Sam felt herself soaring higher and higher...

…and then she woke.  
"Oh my God."

Sam looked around the untidy bed in bewilderment. Her rapidly beating heart and deep breathing were not the only signs that something was amiss in her bedroom. She felt her hormones racing through her, longing for her to finish what had been started but she shook her head, confused. _There are dreams,_ she thought to herself, _and there are dreams. There was no way that couldn't have been real. It was so vivid._ She glanced at the clock beside her and was surprised that it was only midnight. It felt much later. She lay still for a few minutes to try and slow her heartbeat down and thought back to the point where her relationship with Daniel had taken a U-turn. Perhaps it was time to make friends. _Especially if the sex is going to be as good as your dreams_ muttered her brain, disappointed that she had awoken early.

Daniel lay on his bed with a book, not quite asleep but not one hundred percent awake. The words danced before him as he stared at the page, not really attempting to read it but idly thinking of other things. The shrill ring of the telephone brought him out of his reverie and he answered it.

"Daniel?" Sam's voice came out huskier than she had intended and she cleared her throat nervously.

"Sam?" Daniel was suddenly awake as he recognised the voice on the phone. Her voice sounded low and sultry and he was suddenly aware of the gap that had grown between them. "What's up?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Sam realised it was all very well deciding to apologise to someone but she should have perhaps decided how to apologise before attempting to do so.

"Sam?" _This seems to be a recurring problem for women,_ Daniel thought, remembering Janet's late night call. _Didn't they know that you're supposed to talk on the phone?_ He felt a twinge of guilt as he remembered who had been in bed with him that night.

"Look Sam, I'm really sorry –"

"I just rang to apologise –"

Both started sentences at the same time then broke off leaving silence again.

"You first," Daniel prompted.

"I just rang to apologise for slapping you. I guess from your point of view it did look quite bad, and I under-"

Sam broke off as Daniel interrupted; "Sam, I should've believed you, I'm really sorry I asked you too many questions."

"But I should never have slapped you."

Daniel paused. "Well that was a bit out of character." He smiled. "Shall we just say we were both in the wrong?"

Sam smiled a small smile of her own. "So do you believe me?"

"About what?" Daniel tiptoed around the subject, wanting to hear Sam say it again.

"That I love you and not Jack?"

He smiled again. "What are you up to now?"

Sam looked at the untidy bed she was in after her dream; "I'm in bed," she responded slowly. "Why?"

Daniel inhaled sharply as he had visions of himself seducing Sam slowly on a bed, his hands drifting slowly up her…

"Daniel? You ok?"

"I'll see you in ten," he answered dryly before hanging up.

Sam stared at her phone as the line went dead. _Ok, he definitely sounded strange then._ Then his words sank in and she stared around her bedroom in horror. _He's coming here? Now?_ She quickly got out of bed and straightened the sheets to disguise her disturbed sleep. Then she looked in the mirror. Her face was still slightly flushed and she brushed her hair anxiously.

"What am I doing?" she asked her plant. It remained stubbornly silent on the matter.

"I just had an x-rated dream about him. He knows I love him, and I'm just going to let him into my house at midnight in my pyjamas!" Her eyes fell on her dressing gown. "Ha. No I'm not."

Daniel, not bothering to grab a jacket, climbed into his car and started the ignition.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself as he put the car into gear and reversed out of the space. His brain responded with another image of him and Sam in bed, and Daniel put the car in neutral and rested his hands on the steering wheel. _No, that's not what I'm doing. I'm going to Sam's to talk_. He emphasised the word in his head. _Which we haven't done for a week_, he added.

A doorbell rang somewhere in the house and moments later the front door opened and a sheepish looking Sam appeared and studied Daniel.

If the sight of her in a skimpy top and shorts badly hidden by a dressing gown didn't do it for him, the sight of a blush rising on her cheeks and rapidly spreading down her neck certainly did. Daniel glanced down at his shoes to hide his own blush.

"Do you want to come in?" Sam stood awkwardly in the doorway and watched Daniel looking at the floor.

"Yeah, thanks. Sorry for coming round so late." He stepped into the hallway, passing inches by Sam as he did so. _God, why did I just think that?" I've been closer to Sam on many occasions…_ His brain reminded him of a few and Sam, shutting the door behind her, noticed Daniel seemed almost as flustered as she felt. She wondered what was troubling him. _Maybe he doesn't love me any more…_ she theorised, but then immediately dismissed. No, it wasn't that. She had seen the look he had given her when she had opened the door. Maybe that was the problem.

"Do you want me to get changed?"

Daniel looked up, startled. "What? No! Sam," Daniel decided to say what he'd come to say before he dug himself into a hole many miles deep. "I love you and I really am sorry I didn't believe you about Jack. I hope you'll forgive me."

Sam raised her eyebrows and moved closer to him. "Of course I forgive you. I just did on the phone. I was wrong too." Sam stood close to him for a minute; until it appeared she could take no more – for she closed the gap so suddenly he almost jumped. He was surprised by how passionate her kiss was and how quickly she responded as his hands began exploring. She in turn was surprised at how fast he returned her kiss and began to move his hands.

Daniel leant against the wall behind him and paused for breath. "Sam, I don't want you to think I just came over here to…"

"I don't." She kissed him again and they slowly made their way to the bedroom, managing to navigate the stairs without an accident.

As he lay her on the bed, Daniel's eyes met Sam's and he saw a look of familiarity there. Dismissing it as a feeling of security between them, he gently removed the last of Sam's clothing and fulfilled the prophecy that had been both their dreams.


	17. 17

Sam woke as someone next to her stretched.

Daniel smiled and shifted as Sam turned to look at him. "Good morning."  
She smiled back and gently touched his hand. "Morning. What time is it?"

"Eight."

She rolled onto her back and stretched, mimicking his movement moments before. Daniel noticed and grinned as she turned to look at him again.

"What? What do you keep grinning about?" She asked; her own face full of sunshine.

"I love you Sam."

"I love you too."

They closed the gap between them and two hours later strolled into their labs late but happy.

Xxxx

Sam scribbled on a piece of paper and struggled with a series of calculations she had been working with. Normally the calculations wouldn't have been more than a few hours work, but her mind hadn't really been on her job since they had got back from the planet and it was taking ridiculous amounts of effort to concentrate.

She glanced up as Janet entered her lab before continuing with her calculations.

"That time already Jan?" She had arranged to meet Janet for lunch to update her on all the new gossip before anyone else found out.

"Sam, I have the results of your blood test."

Sam didn't look up as she jotted some numbers down. "Hmm?"

"You're pregnant."

Sam's head whipped up as she stopped writing and stared at Janet. "What! I can't be! We only…" she faded off as she realised there was no way Janet could know that.

Janet looked puzzled. "'We only' what?"

Sam smiled. "Daniel came round last night. We… made friends." She blushed. "But what did you just say? Pregnant? How?"

"Well, I guess," Janet shifted uncomfortably. She wouldn't have like telling anyone this, but telling her best friend was even worse. "I guess it was when you and Colonel O'Neill got married, if you don't have any other explanation," she added hopefully.

"Of course I don't have any other explanation – you would know if I did!"

Janet nodded, she'd feared that.

Sam went as pale as she had in the briefing room the week before.

"Jack's baby?" The words came out more hushed than she had intended but she didn't notice. This mission was becoming a recurring nightmare. What would Daniel think? And Jack? General Hammond was sorting out their annulment! Sam stood up. "I have to…" She felt a wave of dizziness and nausea hit her and rubbed her head anxiously to stop the bile rising in her throat. Janet moved around the desk concerned, and placed a hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Let's get you to the infirmary and checked out Sam. I need to do another test to be sure, and it's a bit of a shock." _That's an understatement_ she thought darkly.

Daniel sat in the infirmary next to Jack, who was acting bitter about the fact Daniel had neglected to see him for a week.

"Look Jack. I'm sorry. Really. It's just, you and Sam…"

Jack glanced at Daniel and smirked to himself. He'd had enough fun for one morning. Daniel had been grovelling for the past half hour. He smiled positively at Daniel. "I forgive you this time Daniel, but don't let it happen again. Carter and I are unlikely to ever get it on, given the fact that she is intelligent and worth way more than me, not to mention our differing ranks and lack of love for each other. I could've told you that if you'd asked."

Daniel shuffled uncomfortably in his seat.

"Repeat after me Daniel: I am an ass."

Daniel grinned at Jack. "Fine, I was an idiot. How are you anyway?"

Jack followed his change in conversation smoothly. "Oh fair, fair. I love spending every minute of every day in bed. Bored. And on a restricted diet too. It's great." He whispered conspiringly to Daniel. "Next time you come you couldn't sneak in some Jell-O could you?"

Daniel was about to reply when he noticed Jack's attention was no longer on him but on something over his shoulder. He turned around to see what Jack was looking at.

"Sam!"

Janet had forgotten that Daniel had been visiting Jack when she had left the infirmary earlier and mentally kicked herself for bringing Sam under his scrutiny so soon. She sat the dazed major down on a bed and pulled the curtain around it. "Not now Daniel."

Janet disappeared behind the curtain and Daniel turned to Jack bewildered. "What's going on?"

Jack looked just as confused and shrugged back.

Sam breathed deeply as she sat on the bed and tried to quell the exhaustion that was washing over her. She hadn't even noticed Daniel and Jack sitting on the other side of the infirmary as she had entered the room. The knot in her stomach that had disappeared last night was back with a vengeance, making her feel queasy, and her head was swimming as she tried to collect her thoughts. _After all, hundreds of women find out they're pregnant every day right?_ By their boss. Who they accidentally married. Nope - it wasn't that normal.

Sam bit back tears of frustration as Janet reappeared and gently shone a torch in her eyes.

"That mission was a bloody disaster from start to finish." She muttered angrily. "A battle with Anubis would've been easier."

From behind the curtain Daniel heard Sam's words and turned to Jack, fearing the worst.

"What's happened?"

I don't know Daniel. I'm not a mind reader."

Daniel sighed with frustration and tapped his fingers impatiently on Jack's bed. "No, but you have been in here for the last week. Haven't you heard something?"

Jack thought about it. "Well Janet mentioned something about blood tests this morning to a nurse."

Daniel nodded slowly. "Yeah, we had blood tests yesterday." He sat down on Jack's bed despondently, trying to figure out what was wrong.

Sam took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, like the determined air force major she was.

"Jan?"

"Hmm?" Janet watched her friend's behaviour silently, not knowing what to say. She carried on doing her own job carefully and efficiently.

"Can you keep my results secret for a few days? Just until I've thought it over."

Janet nodded. "You will have to tell the General eventually though, Sam. Not to mention the Colonel, Teal'c and Daniel."

Sam nodded. "I'm going home. Jus tell whoever asks that I'm… feeling unwell." She stood up and moved to open the curtain, Janet stopping her just before she did.

"You do know you can come talk to me don't you Sam?" She could see the determination in the major's eyes and wondered what it meant. Maybe it would've been easier if Sam just let out her emotions then, while she had a friend to lean on. Sam nodded and opened the curtain.

Daniel and Jack listened to the murmuring behind the curtain but neither could hear what was being said. Moments later the curtain opened and Daniel leapt to his feet as Sam appeared.

"Sam? What is it?"

His voice was full of concern and as his and the Colonel's sympathetic eyes fell on her Sam pulled herself up tall.

"Nothing. Nothing. I don't feel very well. I'll call you later."

She turned and left the infirmary without another word. Daniel turned to Janet.

"Janet?"

Janet sighed but remembered both her vows as a doctor and to Sam. "She doesn't feel very well, but I'm sure she'll call you Daniel."

"But you know what's wrong with her."

"I'm sure your visiting time with Colonel O'Neill is over Doctor. Don't you have some work you should be doing?"  
Daniel got the hint and turned to Jack. "See you later."

Jack nodded and watched the Doctor leave the room.

"So what's really going on Doc?" He asked when Daniel's footsteps had disappeared down the corridor.

"Colonel. You know full well I can't, and won't, answer that."

Janet disappeared into her office and for a while Jack sat deep in thought, before leaning over to his bedside table and picking up something to read.

"Ahh goody. A late mission report."

**A/N Yes urgirlie13 sort of guessed what was going to happen. But you know I am evil and like plot twists so I bet you can't guess the ending (that's not a prompt to try)!**

**These next few chapters have been really difficult to write (not the actual plot, I had decided that already – just putting it into word form and thinking about reactions) so I think (said gingerly) any thoughts on them would be greatly appreciated – bad or good, though obviously I'd rather have good comments!**


	18. 18

**A/N Sorry about the delay. Life is sooo frustrating sometimes.**

**Thank you for the reviews last chapter, they make me happy! And interesting question Spacemonkey1129. I figure that Jack can't order Janet to tell him because she is a doctor, and patient confidentiality is more important than rank. At least it should be anyway. General Hammond probably could order her because he is her commanding officer, but I'm pretty sure it would never come to that.**

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* * *

**

Daniel headed back to his lab and sat at his desk for a few minutes. _Sam was upset. She might need a friend._ But she had said she would call him later. _That was probably unlikely to happen._

Two trains of thought battled it out to be his main opinion and after a few minutes of rationalizing he decided it was unlikely Sam was going to call him, and more likely was just going to shut herself off from the world for a few days. Frustrating as it was, should he respect her wishes and let her be? The question floated around as he searched for an answer. No. He wouldn't be Daniel if he left a friend alone who was obviously in need of some care and attention. He grabbed his car keys and switched off his lab light after scribbling a note saying he had gone to do some research at home. It was almost true.

Sam steadily drove out of the town and to the local countryside, before pulling into an empty car park. For a moment she was puzzled by the lack of cars, then she realised it was still work time and most people would be in their offices, probably longing to be outside in the clear air of the country. It was almost ironic that she was there surrounded by beautiful landscapes and yet longed to be back in her office doing her job.

She locked her car and walked down a small path into a green wooded area, sighing as the sounds of the birds washed over her. Gradually, the walk soothed her nerves and reaching a bench; she paused and sat down, taking in the scenery around her. Her mental self flinched at the task in front of her but she slowly began to sort through the emotions associated with the news of her pregnancy. Firstly, there was the shock of actually being pregnant. After all, contraceptives were supposed to stop that from happening. But that was nothing compared to the shock of having slept with Colonel O'Neill. Actually it wasn't the shock of having done that, it was the shock of having no memory of it. She would've flatly denied it if the evidence wasn't going to make itself well known in the next 9 months. Sam shivered, though the air wasn't cool. Once again one of the questions that had been a recurring enquiry since the mission surfaced again. _How drunk had they been?_ At least another one of the recurring questions had been answered. Yes, they had consummated the marriage. Sam tried to imagine herself drunk enough to sleep with Jack. And to get married to him. In the past she would've probably been secretly thrilled with the turn of events, but that had been a long time ago and her and Jack had long since grown past that. Or so she had thought at least. What if Jack hadn't stopped loving her? Also he knew how inebriated she could get. What if - her conscience stopped her from finishing that sentence. Jack didn't love her more than as a friend, and even if he did he would never take advantage of her.

So that left Sam with a baby from her CO, while the man she loved did what? Graciously stood by her? Under normal circumstances Sam guessed Daniel would be the kind of man to do that, but as it was Jack's baby she wasn't so sure. Daniel already had insecurities about Jack. Surely he wouldn't want to raise a child of his? _Raise a child? You've got a bit ahead of yourself there._ But even as she thought that Sam knew she wouldn't get rid of the unborn baby growing inside her.

Daniel parked outside Sam's house and sighed as he realised her car wasn't there. He hadn't expected that. Nonetheless he got out and knocked on her door, confirming what he already knew. He loitered for a few minutes on the doorstep, wondering what to do. Should he wait for her? She could've gone anywhere. Daniel realised he knew very little about Sam outside of work. He had no idea where she would go to in a crisis. He would've always thought she would hide in her lab, surrounded by the relative simplicity of the maths she spent so much time working with.

He sat down on porch and stared at the small grassy area in front of him. He might as well wait for her; he couldn't do anything else. As he waited, his imagination began to create scenes about Sam's free time. He noticed the grass was cut short and wondered whether Sam did it herself or whether there was a kind neighbour nearby. Did she even talk to her neighbours? Daniel only knew one person in his block of apartments and he found it hard to imagine that Sam had a better relationship with any of her neighbours, spending as much time away from home as she did.

xxxx

Thirty minutes later and Sam still hadn't reconciled two ideas in her head. She just couldn't see herself sleeping with Colonel O'Neill. She dismissed her thoughts angrily and stood up. Obviously she had slept with him - she didn't know why her conscious kept arguing the fact. She slowly walked back to her car, and drove home.

Daniel glanced up as a car pulled up behind his own and he stood up as he recognised it as Sam's.

Sam noticed Daniel on her front porch as she climbed out of the car. Part of her warmed to the fact he had come to see how she was but the other part shrank from what she would have to tell him.

She acted surprised as she approached the front door and him, getting her keys out as she walked towards them both. "Daniel! What are you doing here?"

Daniel straightened his jacket and wrinkled his forehead anxiously. "I came to see how you were. You seemed… out of sorts this morning. I was worried."

Sam nodded and let them both into the house, shutting the door quietly behind her and heading to the kitchen. "Do you want a drink?"

Daniel fidgeted awkwardly in the hallway for a few minutes before following her into the kitchen. "Do you want me to make some coffee?"

Sam started to respond when something in the back of her mind mentioned that caffeine was bad for unborn babies. "Erm, no I'll just have juice. I'll make one for you though." She switched the kettle on and started arranging things on the work top. Daniel raised his eyebrows as she poured herself some juice but he remained silent and waited for her to start talking.

Sam sat down at the kitchen table with her drink and watched as Daniel did the same. She wondered how much longer she could delay telling him. The sooner she did it the easier it would be afterwards, she guessed. Not telling him would only make it worse when he later found out.

"Daniel?" She put her juice down on the table and looked intently at him. Daniel put down his own drink and studied her. She looked serious and fidgeted slightly under his stare before glancing down at his hands instead.

"Janet told me this morning that I'm pregnant. She found out from the blood tests she ran yesterday." Sam didn't rush the words as Colonel O'Neill had done when telling the General the first lot of bad news, but stated them quietly and clearly so Daniel would understand.

Daniel listened to the words but it took a few minutes to comprehend what was being said to him. As questions started to pop into his head he slowly took a sip of his coffee and collected his thoughts.

Sam watched Daniel's controlled quietness and waited impatiently for a response. She just wanted some sign of what he was thinking, and it seemed an eternity before he spoke.

"Did it happen on the mission?"

Sam was surprised that he chose that was his first question instead of 'Is it Jack's?' as she had thought it would be, but Daniel had just spent the last hour sat on the porch and had realised he had no idea what Sam had been up to before that fateful trip offworld.

"I think so. I mean, there wasn't anyone before... So it must've been when we were drunk."

Daniel nodded. "So it's Jack's?"

"I presume so." Sam refrained from revealing her feelings on the matter, unsure how Daniel would respond. Instead she stated only what she saw to be fact and let Daniel get his head around the news.

Daniel took another drink from his coffee and watched Sam over the rim of his mug. She looked as drained as she had that morning and he pushed his own feelings away for a moment to remember why he had come to her house in the first place.

"How do you feel about it?"  
He asked the question in a low voice and Sam looked up, surprised at his concern, before remembering he had been a best friend for years and she had never known him to be unsympathetic towards someone.

"Honestly?"

Daniel nodded and Sam felt tears prickle in her eyes as she told him how she felt. "Overwhelmed. I've tried to sort out all my emotions, but I just can't see Colonel O'Neill and I…" she didn't finish the sentence. There was no need to. "It just feels like we've had a good run of luck recently, and now the bad luck has concentrated around one mission."

Sam and Daniel finished their drinks in an awkward silence and as Sam made to wash up to cups Daniel pulled on his jacket. Sam didn't say anything as she washed up the cups and Daniel watched her hesitantly.

"Sam?" Sam turned to glance at him but Daniel shook his head. "Nothing. I'm going to head home. I'll call you later, ok? I just need to…" He faltered briefly, wondering what he needed to do. "Think things through."

Sam nodded but couldn't say anything that Daniel would appreciate so kept quiet. Daniel hovered for a few seconds in the kitchen doorway, before turning and leaving the house. A few minutes later Sam heard a car starting and she wiped a solitary tear from her cheek.

**A/N2 This chapter was quite difficult to write, so any criticism is of course welcomed (though obv I still prefer happy reviews!) When I started this story I never intended it to become such an indepth... thing, but where the muse goes nobody knows! though actually I know where this is going...**


	19. 19

**A/N I would've updated sooner but I casually started flicking through and realised that there were lots of updates I hadn't read in a while… But here I am again. I doubt you'll get another update this week, as I have an evil evil geophysics project due in on the 20th which isn't done yet. As soon as its handed in I'm all yours again though!**

Daniel drove home detached from the traffic he was sharing the road with, and entered his apartment automatically, doing his routine so that before he knew it he was sat on his sofa with a coffee in one hand. His mind, like a broken television set, kept flickering with fragments of his day. Sam is pregnant. Jack had said he and Carter would never get together. It just didn't make sense. He had wanted to tell her it didn't matter, that he realised the shock she must be in, but as she had turned to look at him in the kitchen, he just couldn't bring himself to say it. It did matter, and no amount of reasoning could persuade him otherwise. He knew Sam had said she loved him, and he believed her, but the whole situation was just getting too messy now and he felt himself accelerating with no ability to brake.

Daniel wondered what Jack would think. He presumed the Colonel didn't know yet, as Janet was the only one that had known before Sam had left the base. At least he no longer expected Jack to be thrilled. Would Jack stand by Sam anyway? She would need support - especially when everyone else on the base found out about the baby, which was inevitable. They would think it was his. Daniel remembered that the other personnel didn't know that it was Sam and Jack that had got married. He felt a twinge of anxiety and wished he could protect her from the doubtless comments that would fly around the base, following that particular revelation.

He sighed and gently gathered up a few papers he wanted to sort out, before heading over to his desk. Maybe it would be best to let things tick away naturally and see what happened. He couldn't really see what else could be done. Should he wait for Sam to come to him? Or should he go to her? He would give her a few days, and then if she hadn't been to see him he would go see her. That's best. Daniel nodded to himself and switched on his desk lamp. _Give us both a chance to get over the shock._ He picked up a pen and started reading the work in front of him.

X x x x

Sam headed into base two days later with two missions on her mind: Tell Colonel O'Neill about the baby, and then General Hammond. She had avoided work for a couple of days to sort through everything in her head, hoping (rightly) that Janet would've covered for her. When she reached her lab she found Teal'c in there.

"Major Carter. I saw you arriving and thought I would come and ask you if you are feeling well."

"I'm fine thanks Teal'c." She paused and then shut the door behind her. "I've got some big news though. I'm pregnant. From the mission."

Teal'c studied her face but remained silent and Sam watched him for a few minutes, wondering if he was actually going to reply.

"Colonel O'Neill doesn't know yet." She added after the silence became deafening. A flicker of eyebrow movement suggested that was what Teal'c had been wondering and his words confirmed it.

"The child is from the wedding then. That is… unfortunate?"

Sam shrugged at the choice of words and was surprised as Teal'c came and stood in front of her. "A child is always a blessing Major Carter. Does Daniel Jackson know yet?"

"Yes. I think he's a bit shocked."

"It does seem to have been a bit of an ill-fated mission." Teal'c observed. _Perhaps this was a lesson in why you shouldn't meddle in relationships_ he thought to himself.

"Well. I'm definitely not going to believe in Fate if this is what it always had in store for me."

"I am sure everything will sort itself out."

"Probably." Sam responded automatically.  
"Spoken like a true warrior. And like a warrior you will have your friends standing by you."

Sam openly scoffed his idea of her being a true warrior and having friends standing by her.

"You will have me Major Carter, and Colonel O'Neill. He is as much to blame for this - though it is no-one's fault. Daniel Jackson has never ignored a friend in need, and he is unlikely to do so now it is you who needs his help. Do you wish me to come with you to inform O'Neill?"

Sam wondered which would be easier, telling Jack alone or with Teal'c by her side. "Nah, I best tell him alone. Thanks though."  
"You are welcome."

Teal'c and her left the lab and Sam headed down to the infirmary.

"Carter!" Jack looked pleased as Sam entered the infirmary and walked up to his bed.

"How you feeling Sir?"

"Bored…"

Sam nodded. "I have some… news Sir. Which you may not like." She attempted to forewarn him.

"If it's about you and Daniel, I already know." Jack replied. "And I don't mind Carter. Though obviously you are cheating on your husband - but I'm willing to let that slide. The General has been sorting the paperwork out for the annulment by the way."

She nodded again. "It's not about that Sir. It's about the mission. And the wedding. It seems we…" Sam bit her lip nervously. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" The smile on Jack's face disappeared.

"I realise it's a bit unexpected but Janet did blood tests a couple of days ago."

"A bit unexpected? Getting beamed up to Thor's ship when fishing is 'a bit unexpected'. Did you know about this?"

"What?" Sam forgot to add a 'Sir' on the end, or decided it was inappropriate right now. Either way, Jack flinched at the agitation creeping into her voice.

"I mean; do you remember anything from the mission yet?"

Sam shook her head. "No. Definitely not that. Do you?"

Jack scoffed. "What I would give for _those_ memories." At the look of horror passing over Sam's face he chided himself for joking. "No I don't."

Jack thought for a few minutes. "Aren't you supposed to be on the pill or something?"

"We seem to have found the 1 percent that doesn't work."

Jack thought again. "What does Daniel think? I presume he knows?"

Sam nodded. "He was shocked. I haven't really seen him since," she admitted. She hated to say it but right now it was just easier to not think about Daniel than try and sort everything out.

"Does the General know?"

"No. Basically just SG1 and Janet know. I'm going to go tell the General now. After I've discussed it with you."

"Probably best to tell him soon rather than later."

"That's what I was thinking."

"What are you going to do? You know that I'll stand by you as much as I can Carter. It's my fault that this happened."

Sam studied Jack for a few minutes. "It's not your fault." She said finally. "These things happen."

"Yeah, to SG1. Not to normal people!"

"It was an accident. We'll sort it out. I've got 9 months to sort things out anyway." She smiled wryly.

"You are going to keep it then?"

Sam nodded.

"I really am sorry Sam. I'll talk to Daniel." Jack wondered again whether he had now single-handedly destroyed his friends' relationship. He would have to check with Teal'c how bad it was later.

"It doesn't matter Sir."

"I was the commanding officer. If it's any consolation I'll probably be court-martialled once this news gets out."

"The General wouldn't do that Colonel. I'll go and talk to him now."

Sam left the infirmary and hesitated, before turning towards Daniel's lab instead. She suddenly felt a desire to talk to him. She wasn't sure he could, and would, reassure her but she needed to see a friend before she headed to explain to the General how much more complicated things had become.

Daniel looked up as he heard movement in his open doorway. He couldn't help but smile when he saw who was standing there.

"Hello."

"Hi. Can I come in?"

"Of course."

Sam entered his lab and shut the door behind her.  
"I wondered whether you would come see me or if I'd have to go find you. I noticed you haven't been in the past two days. Are you feeling ok?"

Sam sat down on the couch and relaxed slightly, letting the tension from talking to Colonel O'Neill slide from her. Daniel noticed her posture change and was pleased she had chosen him to come and confide in. He wondered what she expected of him. He hadn't seen her for two days, and the visit was unexpected, even if it was appreciated.

Daniel had realised, much to his dismay, that the baby actually had nothing to do with him – his love for Sam wasn't really enough for him to get involved unless she wanted him too. He couldn't interfere in something that wasn't his problem, and he had been upset to realise that now there was now a legitimate reason for Sam and him not to be together, at least for a while. If Sam didn't want him to be involved, there wasn't really much he could do, though he was willing to be involved as much as he could. He had thought long and hard about how their relationship had changed and he could cope with all of it if she could. After all, she hadn't actually betrayed him – the child had been conceived before they had admitted their feelings. The ball was in Sam's court though – if she didn't want him near her he had even less rights than the actual father did, even if he was the one that loved her.

"Daniel?"

"Hmm?"

She felt frustrated that she had to ask, but as Daniel was showing no signs of saying anything she would have to prompt him. "What are you thinking? About the baby? About us? You've not really said anything. I come in here after not seeing you since I told you, and you act like we are still good friends. Are we?"

Daniel got up from behind his desk and came to sit beside her on the couch.

"Of course we are. It doesn't really matter what I think does it?"

"Of course it does!"

"When you think about it, I actually have no rights at all in this situation. It's not my child, and my opinion on it doesn't mean anything more than the opinion of a good friend."

"So we're just good friends again?"

"If you want us to be." Daniel sighed. "Sam, I don't know what you want from me. You know I love you. I'll stand by you and help you all I can if you want me too. Likewise, if you want me to step back I will, even if I don't want to."

"Oh." Sam sat there, stunned into silence for a few seconds. "I want you to stand by me Daniel, but not because you feel obliged to, or feel sorry for me _as a friend_. I want you to stand by me because you love me and wouldn't have it any other way. Otherwise, I'd rather you didn't get involved at all."

Daniel gently took Sam's nearest hand into his own and smiled as he looked at it. "I do love you and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Their eyes met and Sam glanced at the door, feeling uncomfortable with the intensity of the look. "I was actually on my way to see the General."

"His office is the other way."

"I took a detour."

"Shall we meet up after work?"

"Yeah. Please."

Sam left Daniel's lab and headed for General Hammond's office, her mind on Daniel. The look he had just given her – she had seen it before. It felt so familiar. And yet his eyes spoke of a level of honesty that she was unlikely to have ever seen when they were just friends. The thought left her mind as she saw General Hammond approaching her.

"Sir, could I speak to you?"

"Of course Major. I was just on my way to check if you were in today. SG3 have brought something you might want to look at."

He gestured her into his office and she entered, coming straight to the point about why she was there.

"Well, I had wondered if something like this would happen."

"Really sir? It would've been nice of you to mention it to me."

He scrutinised her quietly. "I meant that after the other revelations regarding the mission, I had been thinking of what else could go wrong."

He fell silent again and glanced at some paper work on his desk. "I've arranged the annulment. I presume this doesn't change that?"

"No sir. Daniel and I still… Well. Colonel O'Neill and I still don't want this marriage."

Hammond nodded. "Doctor Jackson is a good man," he mentioned irrelevantly.

"He is."

"Does Colonel O'Neill know about the child?"

"Yes sir. I told him this morning. He won't be court-martialled will he? Only we are both as much to blame in this."

"No one will be blamed for anything Samantha. Though Colonel O'Neill may be given an exceptional volume of paperwork for a few weeks."

"Thank you Sir."

"You do realise however that the rumour mill is going to go into overdrive? I don't know how long we will be able to hush up the details of the mission. I'm surprised no-one knows that it is you and Colonel O'Neill who got a married."

"I know. I'll just have to face that when it happens."

General Hammond nodded. "You are a good officer Major Carter. I'll do everything I can to see this runs smoothly for you."

"Thank you Sir."


	20. Questions

**How many times have I learnt: Don't promise you'll update soon...

* * *

Later that day, Sam quietly let Daniel into her house, complete with cookies and a couple of dvds.**

"I didn't know what you wanted to do," he stated, gesturing to the things in his hands.

She smiled and led him into the living room. "I don't mind. I'd just like to relax really."

Daniel nodded and sat down on the sofa. "What did General Hammond say?"

Sam pushed a dvd into the dvd player and sat back beside Daniel. "Not much really. He had expected it to happen."

"Really?"

"He said he had been wondering what else could go wrong."

"Oh." Daniel was quiet for a few moments. "I hadn't seen it coming."

Sam looked at him. "I hadn't either." She paused. "You know that night after our date? When we were on the lawn? I was almost glad the mission had happened - that it had brought us together. Now I'm beginning to wonder what the cost of it will be."

"Me too. It all feels like it's spiralling out of our control."

Sam agreed, glad that her and Daniel were feeling the same.

Daniel handed her the bag of cookies and hit the 'play' button on the remote as Sam took a cookie and handed them back.

"Have you told Jack?" He asked as the soundtrack started playing.

Sam looked at him sideways, trying to gauge his interest in the question. Finally she nodded and answered him. "Yeah. He was… Jack. He asked me if I had known about it before."

Daniel considered her words. "He wouldn't have meant it accusingly. You know what he's like."  
"Yeah. He said he would stand by me. And I'm grateful, I am, I just… Oh I don't know what I feel."

Sam looked so dejected that Daniel muted the television and pulled her into his arms. "Sam, I know this is going to be difficult for you – for us, but we will sort it all out. As a team. And though it's difficult for you to admit right now, Jack does have rights as the father. He has just as much a role to play in this as you do."

Sam nodded and rubbed her hand softly on Daniel's chest, finding the warmth of his presence soothing. "I know, I know" she whispered. Daniel gently stroked her arm and she sighed, shifting her thoughts to the back of her mind where they couldn't bother her any more.

X x x x

Jack murmured in his sleep and Janet glanced at the time displayed on the computer. The numbers looked back at her and reminded her of one reason why she disliked her job – the strange return times of some of the offworld teams. SG4 weren't due back for another thirty minutes, but she had come in to work at 3am to get some paperwork done, hopefully so she could leave work early and meet Cassie. As she heard fidgeting out in the infirmary she got up and walked through the open door and up to the Colonel's bed.

"Colonel? Is something wrong? Can I get you a drink?" She wondered where the night nurse was, but the checklist left on the desk suggested she had gone to the medicine stock room.

Jack stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at Janet blearily. "I was just having a weird dream."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"Probably not."

Janet nodded, and turned to head back towards her office.

"I had a dream about a wedding."

Janet smiled, pleased that Jack had decided to discuss his own feelings eventually. She turned and sat down next to his bed. "Yours and Sam's?"

"I don't know. No, I don't think so." Jack rubbed his forehead, seemingly in a state of some agitation. "Was it a memory? It can't have been, because it doesn't make any sense. It was just a wedding party. And I didn't really feel involved - like I was watching it as an outsider. Carter wasn't there. The John Lennon guy was though."

"Sometimes alcohol has the effect of making you feel detached from your surroundings. However it doesn't have to be a memory - it could be nothing. This mission has been at the front of everyone's minds for a while now; it was bound to have some effect on your sleep patterns."

Jack nodded but he didn't look very convinced.

"Do you want something to help you sleep?"

"Nah. I feel tired enough to sleep standing if necessary."

"SG4 will be arriving back soon."

Jack nodded again and Janet stood up and entered her office to do her paperwork.

X x x x

Sam woke gently as her brain processed the information her dream had just brought to her attention. Daniel lay in bed next to her breathing softly as he slept, and she hesitated as to whether it was ok to wake him.

"Daniel?" She whispered it carefully, almost hoping he wouldn't wake up. He shifted slightly and opened one eye. "What's up, you ok?"

"Yeah, I just thought of something."

Daniel opened both eyes and looked at the clock next to the bed. "At 5 in the morning?"

"Uh huh. Sorry for waking you."

Daniel smiled wearily and rolled over to face her properly. "What's the thought then?"

"You know on the mission? Well… I woke up next to you in the morning."

Daniel agreed and Sam waited for the penny to drop. Daniel looked at her, the sleep still in his eyes.

"Ok, if I married Jack then why did I wake up in a bed with you?"

"Ermm…"

"Exactly."

"Can I think about this in the morning?"

"It is morning."

"The real morning."

Sam smiled and nodded.

Daniel rolled onto his back and thought about what Sam had just said. She had a point. What was she doing in a bed with him on her... wedding night? And they had been naked – what did that mean? Daniel didn't like where his thoughts were taking him. And let's not forget the images he had had in his mind of him and Sam. _No,_ he said to himself; _that was just my imagination running away with itself._ Was it though, or were they memories?

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you had any…dreams about us two together since the mission?"

Sam looked at Daniel.

The telephone rang.


	21. 21

**A/N Yeah, who likes drama? Me me me!**

* * *

Sam and Daniel looked at each other.

"Sam?"

A light blush spread on Sam's cheeks. "I've had… one or two. Have you?"

The phone continued to ring as Daniel nodded.

"But they're just dreams, right? I mean… they're not…"

"Memories." Daniel finished the sentence for her.

"Holy…" She picked up the phone beside her. "What?"

"Major Carter?"

"Yes?"

"It's Sergeant Harriman here. We need you to come down to the base. It's a bit chaotic."

Sam frowned and Daniel looked at her. "Who is it?" he whispered.

"It's the base. What do you mean 'chaotic'?" She asked down the phone. She heard raised voices in the background and tried to understand what was being said. The voices got louder and she heard Sergeant Harriman start arguing with someone.  
"No, really sir, it might be best if you wait until –"

"Hello?" A new voice appeared on the phone and Sam responded with a sinking feeling, though she couldn't pinpoint what was the problem. Beside her Daniel shifted slightly to hear the phone call, intrigued at what was bothering Sam.

"Hello?"

The angry voice answered immediately. "Samantha Carter, get yourself over here right away and tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON."

Sam flinched and wondered whether she could get morning sickness this early in the morning.

"Hi Dad."

Next to her Daniel went rigid as he realised who she was talking to on the phone.

"Don't you 'Hi Dad' me. Get yourself over here ASAP."

"Ermm. Sure."

"And is Doctor Jackson there? Tell him he had better have a bloody good explanation for why he is in my daughter's bed."

Daniel's eyes widened and the phone went dead.

Sam sat in silence looking at it.

"Shit." She said finally.

"You can say that again."

Sam stared at the phone. "He's going to kill me. I haven't made any effort to contact him since that mission."

"I think it's more likely he is going to kill me. I don't have a _bloody good explanation_ for why I was in his daughter's bed."

Sam gasped. "Oh god, I hope he doesn't know about Jack."

Daniel groaned. "That will be even worse; at the moment he thinks _we're_ the married ones."

After two hasty showers and frantic dressing sessions Sam and Daniel were pulling into the SGC in civilian clothing. All her combats were at work and Sam didn't want to waste any more time going to her locker to get changed. Instead, she and Daniel headed down to the General's office. On the way they passed Janet.

"Jan?"

"Sam! He isn't happy."

"What does he know?"

"As far as I'm aware he heard you got married to Daniel after getting drunk on a mission."

"Ah."

"Teal'c and Major Sanders removed him from the control room and left him in General Hammond's office."

"And the General?"

"He had the day off. He's been called in."

"I'd best not leave Dad waiting any longer."

"Are you going to tell him the truth?"

"Is there any way I can't? I'll have to."

Sam hurried on to the General's office and Daniel followed meekly behind her. Janet smiled encouragingly at him as he passed and he shrugged at her.

There was a gentle tap at the door and Jacob Carter turned around as his daughter entered General Hammond's office.

"Samantha!" He ignored Daniel for the time being. "Would you like to tell me what the hell has been going on since I last spoke to you?"

Sam felt like a teenager again and obediently shut the door behind Daniel and began to talk. "What have you heard?"

"Where should I start? You got drunk on a mission? While wearing the United States Air Force uniform? And representing Earth? Could you have been any more irresponsible?" Jacob's voice got increasingly louder. "And now you've married him?" He jerked his finger at Daniel, who started to reply. "I don't want to hear it Daniel. I'll talk to you afterwards. What were you thinking Sam? More importantly, what the hell was Jack thinking while you did this? Was he drunk too? Is that what the SG teams have been reduced to?"

Sam, increasingly angry at her father's outburst, interrupted. "What's that supposed to mean? Don't get on your high horse just because you go around the galaxy with the Tok'ra now. You know full well that Earth has always conducted itself in a respectable manner when offworld. And we accepted the drinks as a sign of friendship actually. We were doing our job – forging allegiances. It was no-one's fault that it happened to be highly alcoholic. And I'm not married to Daniel anyway so leave him out of this."

As soon as she said it she regretted it, but it was too late to take the words back. Beside her, Daniel looked up, appalled at the way she had spoken to her father.

Jacob stared at his daughter, shocked again. He had just popped in to have a chat while he had some free time. After overhearing two personnel speaking he was beginning to think it hadn't been soon enough. Now he was beginning to think he should never have left Earth at all. "What?"

"We were very drunk."

"Who did you marry?"

"Colonel O'Neill."

"WHAT?!"

Samantha stood her ground and had Teal'c seen her he would have said again she was a true warrior. "You can't shout at me like that – I'm not a teenager."

"Well you've certainly behaved like one."

"And you're not? Going around and shouting at everyone like you've never made a mistake? Bullying Sergeant Harriman into giving you the phone? Calling me at six am?"

Jacob glanced at Daniel, and then back at Sam. "If you are married to Jack, then what was he," he jerked his finger at Daniel again, "doing in your bed this morning?"

Daniel cleared his throat. "I'd really rather you stopped calling me 'he'. And stopped shouting at Sam. It's not her fault any of this happened."

Jacob looked at him. "What were you doing in her bed?" He asked in a controlled voice.

Daniel glanced at Sam, unsure how to answer. "The thing is, Sam and I are… Well, we're in love."

Jacob sat down on the General's chair and looked at them both. Daniel had sidled up to Sam's side and they smiled at each other.

"You're serious." Jacob said quietly.

"Very."

Jacob rubbed his forehead. "I'm obviously not getting this, because I'm sure you just told me you and Jack are married."

"Yeah. Listen Dad, I can explain…" Sam sat down on a chair and told him all about the mission - except the part where she got pregnant.

Jacob listened and occasionally looked at Daniel, who nodded his agreement to Sam's words.

"So basically you got all got very drunk on the local drink, you and Jack got married - but have no memory of this. And automatically presumed that you and Daniel had got married when you woke up the next day, which is what the whole base now thinks happened. But another SG team that went back found out that it was you and Jack?"

Sam listened carefully and nodded. "Sounds about right."

"Well that doesn't make any sense. Why would you presume you and Daniel had got married? How long have you two been…?"

Sam's eyes met Daniel's. "We woke up in a bed together that morning on the planet," she said, avoiding her father's gaze. "And as we had no memory of the night before…"

Jacob turned this piece of information over in his mind. How could his daughter have got herself into this? To not know which team member she had married… it was the stuff of television.

"Daniel, I like you a lot, you know I do. But I need to talk to my daughter in private. Would you mind just stepping out into the corridor?"

Daniel nodded and quietly left the room, stealing a backward glance at Sam and Jacob. At least Jacob had quietened down.

Jacob waited until the door clicked shut. "Sam, honey." He moved around the table and gave her an awkward, heartfelt hug. "I am so confused right now. I can't imagine what you must be feeling. How did you end up marrying Jack? I mean, the guy's your CO."

"I know Dad." Sam returned the hug, suddenly feeling quite tearful.

"Seriously, what possessed you? I know you may have had feelings at one point, but that was long ago wasn't it?"

Sam looked at her father. "Long ago. I don't like him like that any more. I don't know how this happened."

"Well something must've triggered it."

"Well I don't remember and it doesn't look like I'm going to at any point in the future. And Daniel and I are in love so it doesn't matter anyway, and General Hammond's organised the annulment for the marriage. It's all such a mess, and now with the…" Sam broke off just in time. She had been about to say _'and now with the baby things have got even more complicated._

"And now, with you…" she back-pedalled anxiously but Jacob wasn't going to be fooled.

"And now with what? What else has happened?" He asked, all most incredulously.

"I'm pregnant." Sam looked at her shoes and waited for Jacob's response.

"Pregnant?" Jacob took the piece of news fairly calmly. "I can't believe I have to ask you this, but who's the father?"

"I don't know," Sam whispered.

"You don't know?!"

"Well, we presumed it was Jack's – it was conceived a couple of weeks ago. But now, well, I'm not sure."

"There seems to be a lot of presuming going on around here. What happened to evidence? Precision? Everything you used to represent?"

Jacob's comment stung and Sam looked at him bitterly. "It's going to be bad enough with the whole base thinking I'm some kind of slut without my own father accusing me of it too."

Sam turned and left the room, exhausted by the conversation and desperate for some peace and quiet. Seeing Daniel loitering in the hallway she headed towards Janet's office.

Daniel watched Sam leave Hammond's office and after hovering uncertainly for a moment he entered it and shut the door behind him.

Jacob looked at Daniel. "She told me she's pregnant."

"Yeah." Daniel leaned on the desk next to Jacob.

"How much does the rest of the base know?"

"They think Sam and I are married."

"You've stuck by her, even though she's married Jack."

"I love her," Daniel replied simply.

"Yeah." Jacob fell silent for a few minutes and Daniel, watching him, presumed he was conversing with Selmak.

"Selmak is wondering how that happened, though she's not surprised."

"No-one seems to be. Though Sam and I were."

Jacob gestured to the chairs and Daniel sat down, feeling that Selmak had been having trouble getting her thoughts heard.

Jacob studied him silently.

"So you and Sam are now living together, but are not married, and Sam and Jack are no longer married, but were, and Sam is carrying Jack's child, which the rest of the base will think is yours?"

Daniel frowned and then nodded.

"I hope you have learnt about the evils of drink."

Daniel smiled and Jacob grinned awkwardly at his own comment.


	22. 22

"Sam thinks I think she's a… well she said slut." Jacob looked down at his hands. "I don't think she is."

Daniel stayed silent.  
"Selmak says Sam's morals haven't been called in to question. That she was obviously too incapacitated to know what she was doing."

"We all were."

Selmak asked Jacob a question. "What about Teal'c?"

"We locked him in a cupboard."

Jacob laughed, then realised Daniel was being serious. "Really? Teal'c?"

"Yeah. Apparently he tried to stop the wedding."

X x x x x

"T!"

"Colonel O'Neill. It is quite early in the morning. Should you not be asleep?"

"I was. But I've had some weird dreams. And now I've heard Jacob's storming around. Also, I needed to talk to you."

"Indeed?"

"You know on the planet?"

"To which planet are you referring to?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "The flowery free loving planet of course. I accused you of wanting the marriage to go ahead. Did you think Sam and Daniel were getting married? You weren't drunk were you? What was actually said?"

Teal'c looked at O'Neill and thought for a few minutes. "I believed Major Carter and Daniel Jackson were the ones to wed. I would not have encouraged a union between yourself and the Major."

"Oh. Thanks! What do you remember before you were… well, locked away?"

"There were many drinks. You were all very intoxicated. I attempted to warn you O'Neill, that your state would not be ideal for brokering any alliances."

"Well that wasn't quite true…" Teal'c paused and looked pointedly at Jack. "You're right, I'm sorry," Jack said, smiling at the irony nonetheless.

"The man, the one you call 'John Lennon', spoke of a couple in the village who had got married that day, and who now shared a union with nature. Daniel thought that was a great idea, and I agreed that marriage is an important, binding agreement. You picked up on this, and before long the two of you were plotting a wedding. At this point I do not believe Major Carter was aware of what was transgressing. I pointed out the flaws in such a plan, but you called me a 'party pooper' I believe. I thought about it and decided that a marriage between Major Carter and Daniel Jackson may be a good idea, but I reiterated my arguments against one in case anyone listened. You did not. The rest is, as they say, history."

"Right." Jack thought for a few minutes. "So to you it seemed like Daniel and Sam were going to be the two that wed?"

"Indeed." Teal'c studied Jack. "Have you remembered something from the mission O'Neill?"

"I don't know. I had a dream this morning that I was at a wedding party, but it was like I was watching it from afar. It was on that planet, but Carter and Jackson weren't there. Then I had another dream and I proposed to Sam – well I say proposed, I mean said something along the lines of 'Wanna get hitched?' and Sam said 'Sure' and we did. Then I saw Daniel with a drink in his hand and he came and spoke to her and they snuck off somewhere and I spoke to a very pretty girl with a yellow flower on her wrist."

Jack looked at Teal'c. "Do you think it's a memory?"

"I do not know O'Neill. Did Doctor Frasier not mention that the memories may come back?"

"Yeah, she did. You don't think," Jack began to voice what was really on his mind. "You don't think I would've intentionally married Carter, knowing Daniel was in love with her? Surely I wouldn't have done. Because I don't love her."

Teal'c pondered for a few minutes. "No, you would not," he said finally. "You could not have known. I knew because of something Daniel had mentioned earlier on, that is why I concluded it was that it was he who had married Major Carter. I am sure it was just the combination of drink and… boisterous behaviour that encouraged you to marry Major Carter –"

"And Daniel is too much of a gentleman to say how he felt," said Jack, suddenly feeling even more guilt about the marriage. "Although… Hey!" Jack exclaimed suddenly and pointed at Teal'c. "He stole my bride away at my own wedding reception!"

Teal'c raised his eyebrows. "She is not really your bride O'Neill."  
"That's not the point! Hey, and if he stole her away before the end of the wedding reception... Did he _sleep_ with her too?! Oh Daniel, that is so wrong! He isn't a gentleman at all! And that means I'm not the father!"

Jack looked at Teal'c triumphantly.

"O'Neill. I do not feel that this speculation is based on much evidence."

"I need to talk with Carter."

"Is that wise?"

"Trust me T."

He heard footsteps coming down the hall and watched Sam hurry into the infirmary towards Janet's office.

"Carter!"

"Sir, I'm really not in the mood right now…"

"I think you'll want to hear this Major."

Sam ignored him and entered Janet's office.

"How did your Dad take it?"

"There was a lot of… I don't know. He's not too happy."

"Well… What he thought had happened hasn't, but something else has. It's a lot to take in. I'm sure he still-" She broke off as someone knocked on her door.

A nurse appeared and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry to interrupt Doctor, only Colonel O'Neill is quite insistent that he talks with Major Carter _right away_."

Janet raised her eyebrows and shrugged at Sam, who frowned and headed out into the infirmary.

"Colonel?"

"Carter. I'm going to ignore the fact you ignored your commanding officer a few moments ago."

Sam shrugged. "My father's here Sir."

"So I heard. Anyway I have something important to say.

I had a dream. Which I think was real. Anyway, I was at a wedding, right? I was a guest. Or so I thought. The John Lennon guy was there. Anyway, I was the groom. But my bride wasn't there. And then you know what I realised? Daniel wasn't there either. And then I remembered that you two had been in bed together when we woke up in the morning. So I'm thinking; I'm not the father of that child, Daniel is."

He waited for his news to have the ground-breaking effect he had thought it would. He was disappointed.

"You think Daniel and I slept together?"

"Well I don't mean to be funny Carter, but you slept with someone."

"Yes, thanks Sir."

"Well you did! And Daniel liked you already. I did effectively steal you from him… I didn't mean to of course. I didn't know. But Teal'c thought you and he were the one's who were going to get married. So it's likely Daniel did too. And he did take you away from me during the wedding reception. I remember it now. And you woke up in bed together in the morning…"

Sam thought it over. "I need to talk to Janet."

"I'm here Sam."

Sam turned around and looked over to where Janet was watching from her office door.  
"Well?"

Janet shrugged and moved closer to Jack's bed. "What do you think?"

"Well," Sam faltered. "Daniel and I were just discussing it when Sergeant Harriman rang this morning. We were starting to come to the same conclusion."

Jack looked at Janet. "Is there any way we can check who the father is yet?"

Janet shook her head. "Sorry. Sam's only a couple of weeks pregnant. At the earliest I can't do a paternity test for another two months. Ten weeks I think it has to be. I'll check though, if that's what you want?"

Sam nodded slowly. "I'll have to talk to Daniel."

Jack nodded too.

X x x x x

"Well Daniel, I have to say, even though it didn't seem like it, I'd rather have you as a son in law than Jack."

Daniel smiled at the back-handed compliment. "Will you go talk to Sam though? I think she's feeling a bit out of her depth at the moment, she could really do with the support."  
Jacob nodded. "I know. It was a shock. I mean, she married her CO. In my day that meant a court martial. And being drunk on duty definitely did."

"It still does. Usually."

"She's supposed to be this respectable Air Force Officer and scientist… She is this respectable Air Force Officer and scientist" he corrected himself. "It's not news I ever expected to hear. Where do you think she's gone?"

"Her lab or the infirmary probably."

"The infirmary?"

"To speak to Janet. Also, Jack's there. The alcohol made him ill."

"How ill?"

Daniel shrugged. "He's getting better."

"Oh." He didn't seem very concerned by the news. "I guess I'll head over there then. You coming?"

Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose and stood up. "Yep."


	23. 23

"I believe it is customary for friends to make a speech at a time like this. Firstly I would like to thank Colonel O'Neill, Doctor Jackson and Major Carter for not locking me in the cupboard today."

There was a light chuckle at Teal'c's words.

"I hope this marriage is as blessed as their friendship has been, and may their first child be born strong and healthy. I was going to wish their first child was a boy, but I knew Major Carter would not approve."

Teal'c nodded at Sam, who got up and hugged him.

"Thanks T. For everything."

"You are most welcome Major Carter."

Someone cleared their throat, and Jack stood up. "I too have a few words I'd like to say. I'm glad that everyone has had a good time today. Well I presume you have?" There were cheers of assent.

"Good. You may note Janet, that I have been fairly conscious of my alcohol consumption today."  
Janet laughed.

"I'm glad that we have the chance today to say thank you for everything that we haven't lost... I'm glad that Sam and Daniel have finally got hitched for real and I'm glad we can put the past four months behind us-" Jack paused as various members of the SGC drank to his words (some with non-alcoholic drinks). "I'm glad I now have one less surname to remember when calling on the radio, and I guess you're all glad that I'm not very good with words and will finish now. To Sam and Daniel!"

X x x x x

Sam and Daniel danced quietly to one side of the dance floor as a small band played lively music on a stage at the front.

"So."

"So?"

Daniel smiled and pulled Sam closer. "So we are now husband and wife. Properly. To paraphrase from Jack's speech; 'I'm glad'."

Sam smiled and leaned into Daniel. "Me too. I love you Daniel."

"I love you too."

They danced quietly for a few minutes.

"Have you changed your ideas about fate now then?" Daniel asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well when I first asked you you said everything was just a set of coincidences."

"I think you'll find Doctor Jackson that I said _as a scientist_ I would have to believe that."

"Right. My mistake." His hand gently brushed over her stomach. "And as a woman?"

"What do you think?"

Daniel laughed. "I asked first."

"And now you'll never know because you laughed at me."

Daniel stopped dancing and slowly pulled Sam in for a kiss.

As their lips met there was a tapping on Daniel's shoulder.

"Go away Jack." Daniel murmured, continuing to kiss Sam in between words.

"Well I was just thinking – you got to have her on my wedding night so…"

"Go away Sir." Sam said, giving Jack a dirty look.

"I'm just kidding. Seriously though, you should make the most of it now - you don't know who you'll wake up married too tomorrow morning!"

Jack winked at Daniel and grabbed at a passing officer, pulling her into a vague dance. "Doc, what a pleasant surprise!"  
"Isn't it just!" Janet smiled at Sam and Daniel, who were slowly dancing again. "Is he bothering you two?"

"No more than usual." Daniel said, smirking at Jack.

"I'm sure you can get him back when you need a babysitter."

"Can we trust him with our baby?" Sam asked playfully, copying Daniel's smirk at Jack.

"Carter! I mean, Jackson! I mean, Carter-Jackson! I get entrusted with inter-planetary treaties! I'm sure I can handle your child! All I'll need to do is give it a book."

Jack danced away with Janet in his arms before they could reply.

"Jack has a point."

"Does he?"

"Yeah. What if my child grows up liking languages? That won't do."

"Why not?"

"Well, I want a cutting edge scientist in the family - physics of course."

"We might have to have more than one."

THE END

A/N Yeah so I'm going away for a while on a field trip and felt bad about having not put the last chapter up. Thank you everyone who reviewed me over the chapters and stuck through my 6 month hiatus. I am intending to write another fic, but you know how consistent I am with my updating… I have got an idea and some roughly scribbled notes though so there maybe something by me online again in a couple of months! Other than that, if you are not already writing your own fics perhaps you should start! There isn't enough Sam Daniel in the world! I guess this is me over and out for now! Thanks again.


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